Inseparable
by Kiyase
Summary: A warrior from the kingdom of Ransei finds a way into a completely different world where everything is done so much differently. People do not link with pokemon, instead, they catch them with strange contraptions. She has to adapt to her new environment, and her being there may have the power to change what happens, and the world as people in this new pokemon world know it.DISCON'T
1. Departure

Sounds of battle echoed throughout the cave. A warrior was commanding her growlithe. She was just one of the warriors in the cave. Their warlord had sent four of them in to train and prepare for the next battle against the next warlord.

Things were relatively peaceful, but warlords still liked to have the mock battles between them to stay strong, as well as something exciting to do.

 _Fire Fang,_ thought the girl. The growlithe's mouth generated fire and he bit the zubat, making it faint. The rest of the warriors defeated the other pokemon, and the girl sat down on the ground. Another warrior walked over to her with his emolga.

"Kaia, are you ok?" he asked.

The girl sighed. "Yes, Takashi, I'm fine. Just a little bored, I guess."

Takashi laughed. "You should just be happy that we aren't at war right now and they just want to have these battles."

Kaia sighed again. "I suppose you are correct."

Etain interrupted by jumping on Kaia's lap and licking her face, causing her to laugh. She pet his head.

"Etain calm down! Etain! Hahaha stop that tickles!"

Takashi laughed as well. He pet Etain's head once the growlithe had calmed down.

"He is your Perfect Link, is he not?"

Kaia nodded. "Yes. He has been with me for a long time. We actually had to travel to Ignis."

Takashi held a hand out to Kaia. She took it, and Takashi pulled her up. He closed his eyes and smiled, saying to her, "You know, you could always talk to that crazy warlord father of yours and make this easier for all of us."

Kaia sighed. "My father is a stubborn man, Takashi. I do not know how he will react."

Takashi winked. "But the worst he can say is no, correct?"

"Correct..."

They left with the other two warriors and returned to the castle. Seeing how late it was, Kaia decided to talk to her father in the morning.

The next morning, Etain woke Kaia up by licking her face. He could not wait for her to wake up on her own. She had to talk her her father, Warlord of Aurora!

Kaia got up from the bed and dressed in her warrior attire. It was a short black dress with black leggings that went to her mid thigh. The dress had gold trimmings, and above it all, she wore a ruby colored long sleeved kimono that was a little longer than her dress. The jacket also had a gold trimming on it. With this, she wore black knee high boots that also had gold trimming. To finish the look, she put on her glasses so she could see where she was going.

Kaia left her room and walked down the hall to get to her father. She opened the doors to the entrance of the courtyard. She knew this was her father's favorite spot. The warrior stomped up to her father.

Her father, like Kaia had brown hair, brown eyes, and wore glasses as well. He was a strong but kind man, and an exceptional ruler.

Kaia's father turned to look at her. His eyes lit up and he got up to walk toward her.

"What is wrong? Why have you come to see me with that expression in your face?"

"Father — Warlord — I am tired of doing all this training when there is nothing but peace in Ransei."

The expression on Aurora's Warlord changed. He had an extremely serious expression on his face. Kaia crossed her arms, and Etain barked.

"Is there something you are not telling all of us?"

The Warlord nodded. He took a breath in, and then started to speak. "Arceus came to see me. I was told that there will soon be wars all over Ransei, and there will be no way to stop it. I have already seen signs of this when I meet with the other Warlords. They are all becoming more violent and challenge each other much more frequently."

Kaia was shocked. "So why have you not said anything?! I think your warriors would want to know about this!"

Her father shook his head. "If I do that, there will but much panic and suffering. Besides, it is a future prediction. That may change."

Kaia slowly nodded. Her father was a responsible man. If this was what he said, there must be a perfectly acceptable reason behind it. He would never put his kingdom in jeopardy.

Kaia stroked Etain's head. After a few moments, she nodded.

"Okay. I trust you. After all, you are our most righteous, noble, and kind ruler."

Kaia's father pulled her into a hug.

"Arceus awaits. You know where."

"But Father. I-I do not—"

"Just go. I believe in you."

Kaia left the palace and looked at Etain. The growlithe looked up and licked her hand. Kaia took a few steps, and then plopped down on the ground.

"What does he mean I know where?! I do not know where!"

She turned to look st the castle and yelled, "I do not know where! Father why are you so difficult!?"

After her outburst, Kaia got back up and immediately felt a presence. She started to see a golden light. It looked like Etain could see it as well. She started walking through the crowds in the main square, following the faint golden light.

At one point, it was like Etain was leading her. They kept walking until they reached a cave. Takashi, who had called out to her, was ignored.

At the cave, warrior and linked pokemon sensed the presence get stronger. The faint golden light was even brighter. Kaia took a few steps into the cave, and the presence got even stronger. It felt like the gravity was being intensified.

Kaia looked at Etain. He looked a little uneasy

 _A little further. Then we can go back. Okay?_

Etain nodded, and the duo traveled further.

They were deep in the cave, but nothing was there. Kaia crossed her arms. "I guess Arceus is not here."

Everything in the cave started shaking. Kaia grabbed a wall, and Etain was in between her legs. Kaia turned to the entrance, only to find out that it had disappeared! Kaia tried inching her way down the cave, but one big shake was enough to make her stop. She crouched down and hugged Etain.

"Okay, this was a bad idea..."

Etain started licking Kaia's face. That always seemed to calm her down. Kaia took a deep breath in.

"Do not worry," she said, "I will not let anything happen to you."

Etain looked at Kaia in surprise. Usually, in situations like these, she did not talk to him using her regular voice. She would use the ability that all Warriors had — she would communicate wordlessly with her pokemon.

Kaia started petting Etain more. "I know I do not normally speak to you like this, but it feels right at this moment."

A part of the ceiling above them started shaking and threatened to fall on top of them, which would indeed crush the warrior and her growlithe.

Kaia looked up and then back at Etain. As the ceiling started to come loose and fall, she covered Etain with her body and shielded him. The rocks started hitting her, but she did not feel pain. Perhaps it was the adrenaline she was feeling. She had to protect Etain no matter what.

Soon, the rubble had buried a majority of Kaia and growlithe. Kaia was laying on top of her precious pokemon partner with her face exposed. Etain was knocked out, and Kaia was on the verge of unconsciousness.

She saw the golden light again, and the presence was the strongest it had ever been. Kaia looked in front of her, and saw the feet of a pokemon. She knew which pokemon it was, or, she had a strong feeling.

She slowly looked up. "A-Arceus?"

The pokemon nodded and Kaia's eyes felt extremely heavy. They were threatening to close at any moment.

 _Rest now._

With those words, Kaia's eyes closed, never to see Ransei again.

* * *

Kaia was laying next to her growlithe in front of a big building. Many pokemon lived in this building. The sign next to the building indicated that this was the Pokemon Lab.

Etain woke up before Kaia and kept licking her face until she woke up. Kaia started laughing.

"Ah Etain! Stop! Stop! Hahaha!"

The growlithe stopped licking Kaia's face, and she sat up. She looked at her surroundings, and she did not recognize where she was. This small town had only three houses, and the one big building she was sitting in front of.

Kaia quickly remembered what had happened before she closed her eyes and stood up quickly.

"Arceus! Where is he? Where did he go?"

Kaia looked at herself. She was completely fine, but the same could not be said for her clothes. They were tattered and had rips, most likely because of the cave-in. The rocks that piled in top of her must have done this.

 _I cannot go around looking like this..._ thought Kaia, _I need to find some clothes._

Kaia looked behind her and decided to knock on the door. Maybe there was someone in there that could tell her where she was, and more importantly, get her some more clothes.

A woman in a lab coat and light brown hair in a bun answered the door.

"Hello, how may I help you?"

"Hello," said Kaia with Etain at her side, "I was wondering if you could help me? I do not know where I am, and I believe I am in need of an extra pair of clothes."

The woman looked down at Kaia and Etain and immediately let them in. "Of course of course. Just follow me."

Kaia followed the woman to an extra room. Inside, there was a bed, a bathroom, and a closet. Kaia faltered for a moment. She did not even know this woman's name!

"May I know your name?"

"Hm? Oh, yes, of course. I am Professor Juniper, a Pokemon Professor."

Kaia put her hand out. "Nice to meet you. My name is Kaia Iltiné."

Professor Juniper shook Kaia's hand.

"So, Kaia, where are you from? We're in Nuvema Town of the Unova region."

"The Unova region?"

"Correct. So where did you say you were from? I haven't seen clothes quite like yours before. Are you from Johto? The clothes would make sense for that, but your accent isn't Johtoan."

"No, I am not from Johto, nor have I heard of that place. I come from Ransei."

The pokemon professor looked troubled. Ransei? She swore she had heard that name before. But she could not remember exactly where.

"From Ransei?"

"Yes. Why are you so confused?"

"N-never mind," said the professor as she pulled out some extra trainer clothes for the seventeen-year-old girl. "You're a pokemon trainer, right? That's usually who comes to visit. Or, do you want to become a pokemon trainer. But, by the looks of you, you should already be one. Ah, nevertheless, it's never too late to start!"

Kaia just looked at Professor Juniper in confusion. She had never even _heard_ of a pokemon trainer, much less know what it is or want to be one. And what was that about it never being too late to start.

Professor Juniper handed Kaia the extra clothes saying, "I can register you as a pokemon trainer if you aren't one already. Just follow me. Then you can change into those clothes."

Kaia nodded and followed the professor into another room. In the room, there were many books and round red and white spheres. There was a table in the middle with three of these spheres. It was like those three in particular were the most important.

Professor Juniper walked over to a computer.

"I'll just put in all of the data here. Your name is Kaia Iltiné, right?"

Kaia nodded.

"Alright, I'll just enter that...huh?"

Professor Juniper looked at the screen in shock. Kaia's name was not showing up at all. There was no data on her at all. Not even from other regions! She looked at the screen a bit longer, and then decided to say that Kaia was from Unova. The rest of the information needed was entered, and then Professor Juniper handed Kaia her trainer card.

"And now for you starter. I mean, you already have your growlithe there, but all trainers get a starter pokemon when they begin their journey." she picked up the three spheres, "So come on out!"

Before Kaia stood three pokemon. First was a green snake that stood on two legs and looked like it had vines for arms, a red pig that was on all fours smiling happily, and finally a blue and white otter that had a shell on its belly.

"In order, they are Snivy, Tepig, and Oshawott. Go ahead and pick one."

Kaia and Etain looked at the three pokemon. Kaia was looking at them, trying to decide if she should try and form a link with one of them. She already knew she was in a pace far from Ransei, so she did not even know if pokemon here could link with people. By looking at all the spheres, they probably could not. The snivy looked like it would be hard to get along with, mostly because of the look it was giving everyone and everything around it. The tepig looked mild mannered, but Etain was a fire type, and it would not be a good idea to have two of those. That left...oshawott. At the moment, it was spinning around and trying to impress them, but then he fell on his butt, causing the snivy to laugh at him. Tears filled the oshawott's eyes as it looked down. Kaia and Etain looked at each other and smiled.

"I choose oshawott."

The oshawott's eyes lit up, and it got up from the ground. He ran toward Kaia and latched onto her leg. Professor Juniper smiled.

"Would you like to nickname your pokemon?"

Kaia nodded and looked at the oshawott. After a while, she came up with a name.

"Nereus. It means water."

The oshawott jumped around, accepting his new name.

Professor Juniper handed Kaia one of the red and white spheres. Kaia looked at it in confusion.

"It's a pokeball," said Professor Juniper, "These are used to catch pokemon. This one is Nereus's pokeball."

The professor then got five more. She handed them to Kaia.

"These are five more. Why don't you go ahead and catch that growlithe you have with you?"

Kaia nodded. She grabbed a pokeball and held it in front of Etain.

"Well Etain?"

 _Though I think you have to go in here for a moment._

Etain looked uncertain, but he pushed the button in the middle anyway. The pokeball opened, and he was sucked in. It shook in her hand three times, and then clicked. Kaia immediately let Etain out of the pokeball, and she felt their link increase.

Etain jumoed up and put his paws on Kaia's leg. She then crouched down and started petting him.

Professor Juniper cleared her throat, and Kaia got up. The professor was holding a digital device. It was black with a red pokeball on the bottom half, and it looked like it was able to scan something.

"This is a PokeDex. It can register the pokemon you have with you, which gives you detailed information on them. When you battle a new pokemon, you can scan it to see what its name is. The PokeDex I'm giving you is a newer version we based off of the RotomDex in Alola. Although it can't house a pokemon, we gave it an AI, so you can ask it a question, and it will answer. It doesn't have the capacity to speak, so the answer will be on the screen. Got that?"

Kaia slowly nodded and took the PokeDex from the professor. Etain and Nereus looked up at their new trainer. She looked very confused. Professor Juniper giggled.

"You're actually the first person we're giving this to in Unova. Other regions are trying the same thing, so you're not the only one. So why don't you go and change into those extra clothes. I managed to find some colors similar to the ones you're wearing right now."

Kaia nodded and walked to the bathroom to change. She changed into a black shirt under a red jacket with a gold pokeball on the shoulders, and gold trimmings. She also changed into dark brown cargo pants, and even darker brown hiking boots. She had a belt which she also put on. It looked like it could hold the pokeballs.

Along with the clothes, Professor Juniper included a trainer bag. The bag was a black messenger bag with golden outlines as well as a gold pokeball insignia on the flap. Kaia put the strap on her left shoulder, and the bag was on her right hip.

While Kaia was changing, she found a dagger hidden in her kimono. There was a message written on it. It read _Abandon fear and you will prevail_.

 _Use it wisely._

Kaia looked around, but she could not find the source of the voice. It sounded like Arceus, but she was not sure.

Kaia decided to put the dagger on her belt. It wasn't that big anyway.

She walked out of the bathroom, and Professor Juniper handed her everything. Kaia put the PokeDex and empty pokeballs in her bag, then she put Etain's and Nereus's pokeballs on her belt.

The pokemon professor nodded and smiled.

"Now you look like a real pokemon trainer! Now go out there and have fun on your journey!"

Kaia was pushed out the door along with Etain and Nereus. Kaia looked back at the closed door.

"But, what exactly am I supposed to do?"

* * *

 **And welcome to the end of the first chapter of Inseparable! This is my first fanfic on this account, and I will do my best to update as soon as a can.**

 **There may or may not be potty mouths from some characters, possibly from Kaia as well. There will also be some violence, because when there are creatures that can seriously injure you in the wild, if you venture too far they will try to kill you, or crazy people will use them and try to kill you. Obviously, this started in the world of Pokemon Conquest, and then moved to the main pokemon games.**

 **Now, Kaia and her growlithe, Etain, can communicate wordlessly, because that is the ability of Warriors in Conquest. It kind of bothered me in the game where they would only speak to their pokemon when in the beginning, it said that they could communicate without words. So, I decided to do a combination of both. There will be some points where Kaia communicates with no words, and other times when she will shout out commands to Etain.**

 **So, yes, that is basically what I wanted to say at the end of this first chapter. I hope you enjoyed the first chapter of Inseparable!**


	2. Training Mishap

Kaia starred up at the entrance of the Pokemon Lab. Etain and Nereus were with her.

The newly registered trainer kept starring in the same direction. She was considering to go back inside and ask the professor what a pokemon trainer was.

After thinking it over, Kaia decided to walk in. Professor Juniper looked at her with a surprised expression.

"Back so soon? Do you need something Kaia?"

Kaia looked down, and Etain nudged her forward. Kaia took a deep breath in and looked at the professor.

"Um, what is a pokemon trainer?"

Professor Juniper looked at Kaia in shock. How could she not know what a pokemon trainer was?

"Holy Arceus! How could you not know what a trainer is when you came to register for one?"

"I did not come to register. I came to get clothes and find out where I am, which you helped me with wonderfully. I never once asked to register as a pokemon trainer, whatever that is. And what do you mean by _Holy Arceus_?"

The professor sat down in her chair and said, "Just forget about that Arceus thing."

"How could I forget about that? Is it here?"

"Just sit down so I can explain pokemon trainers to you."

Kaia sat down, and the professor started to explain.

"Here in Unova, when children turn 15, they are allowed to come to my lab to become a pokemon trainer. This means they can go out in their own journey and see the region. They collect gym badges to be able to challenge the Elite Four and Champion so they can become the strongest trainer in the region. Pokemon trainers used to be able to go out on thief journey when they were 10, but the League changed it because of all the dangerous pokemon. And because of all the complaints. Does that clear everything up for you?"

Kaia slowly nodded. So it was nothing like Ransei. But, she still had a question. Etain jumped on her lap before she asked.

"What about linking with pokemon? Can trainers do this?"

"Linking? What's that."

Kaia sighed.

"Nevermind."

Professor Juniper continued to look at Kaia. This girl was so strange. She had never heard of a pokemon trainer, said she came from a place called Ransei, and asked about something about linking with pokemon! And she was talking as if she had seen Arceus before!

Professor Juniper looked up and saw Kaia's amazed expression from looking at all the equipment in the lab. Kaia's jaw dropped when she saw the television. A news report was going on about different stunts trainers had pulled.

Kaia and Etain ran over to it.

"Incredible! There's a person communicating on this screen! But how? Never have I seen anything like this! This is so much quicker than our messengers!"

A bead of sweat ran down Professor Juniper's face. If Kaia was this excited over a smaller television, she would go nuts in Castelia or Nimbasa.

Professor Juniper looked around and saw the HoloCasters from Kalos and realized she had forgotten to give one to Kaia! Good thing she came back.

The professor stood up and took one of the HoloCasters as well as a Xtransceiver. She stood in front of Kaia and handed them to her.

"I forgot to give these to you, since most people already have them when they come to become a pokemon trainer. The first one is a Xtransceiver. It is a communication method unique to Unova and it also gives you the time. The second is a HoloCaster, which was created in Kalos. They have distributed them to all the other regions, so most everyone has one of these. If you find someone that doesn't have a Xtransceiver, just register them in the HoloCaster. The HoloCaster charges with solar power, and the Xtransceiver works with batteries. Most big cities will have the batteries for the Xtransceiver if you ever need them."

Kaia nodded, not understanding much of this technology thing. She took the two devices from Professor Juniper and put them in her bag. Nereus jumped up and hung onto Kaia's bag. He wanted to see what was in her bag. Kaia picked him up and set him on the ground again. Etain then stood over the oshawott. Nereus sighed and then stayed still on the ground.

Kaia gave her thanks to the professor and left the lab. As she was leaving, Professor Juniper called out to her.

"Don't forget! The first gym is in Striaton City!"

Once Kaia was outside, she looked up to the sky. She decided to go into the first route. It was time to do some training.

Kaia went deep into the route, because she was not sure if what she was going to try was going to work, and she did not want to bring any attention to herself, even if it was an early route that not many people went through.

When Kaia found a spot she deemed appropriate, she sat down. Etain sat next to her, and she placed Nereus in front of her. She looked at Etain.

 _I want to see if I can link with Nereus. Do you think that will work?_

Etain waited a moment and then nodded at his linked partner. Kaia looked at Nereus and took a breath in. She had to concentrate for this.

With her eyes closed, Kaia started concentrating. She focused on all the things around her. She just needed to find a small trace of the golden light. The professor did mention Arceus. Maybe there was a faint trace of it here.

Kaia opened her eyes and saw a very faint trace of golden light. It almost was not even there.

She looked at Nereus and the oshawott just stared back. He was confused about this entire situation.

Kaia kept starring at Nereus, trying to link with him. The golden light became a little stronger, but not strong enough to form a link. Eventually, Kaia started to get a headache. She was going at this for too long. She sat back and picked Nereus up.

"Why is it that I cannot link with you? Is it just that there is something preventing that in this world?"

"Osha?"

Kaia sighed. "Oh well. Let us go train now."

Kaia took out her PokeDex. It could give her some information on Nereus, like which move he knows. She was surprised to find that the PokeDex said Nereus knew two moves. Kaia looked at Etain and pointed her PokeDex at the growlithe. It turned out that Etain knew four moves so far, not just one!

Kaia looked at Etain. _You know four moves! Etain this gives us a lot of different opportunities for battles!_

Etain barked happily and nodded. Kaia looked over to Nereus. "I'll train you first. Now just run and use Tackle!"

Nereus ran forward and tackled the air and then came back to Kaia. A few moments later, there was a rustle in the bushes. Kaia took out her PokeDex. Maybe it could tell her what it was? She could also try and strike up a conversation with it.

"PokeDex, do you know what pokemon is in the bushes?"

 _"Let me analyze it. Take me closer."_

Kaia jumped back, saying, "I thought the professor said you would not be able to speak!"

 _"Don't be absurd. If I can speak when I tell you what pokemon you have found, why wouldn't I be able to speak when you ask me a question? Now, take me closer to the bushes so I can tell you what it is."_

Kaia slowly walked closer to the bushes, being careful just in case there was something dangerous in the bush. Her PokeDex was getting impatient.

 _"Hurry up! It'll midnight before we get there at this pace!"_

"But the sun is still out!"

 _"Exactly."_

Kaia sighed and started to walk faster toward the rustling bushes. She got to the bushes and held her PokeDex in front of it. There was a loading screen on it, and then it showed a picture of a partat.

 _"This is a patrat. It is the—"_

"Yes, I know," said Kaia. She then turned to Nereus and said, "Time to train Nereus. We are going to battle that patrat."

"Osha!"

"Nereus, use Tackle on the patrat!"

Nereus ran at it and hit the patrat. It flew back, and once it got up, it looked extremely upset.

"Pat! Rat!"

Suddenly, many patrat and watchog appeared. They all looked very angry once they saw the patrat that Nereus hit. Kaia took a step back.

 _So pokemon act differently here as well. Interesting, but not too good for me right now!_

Kaia looked at Etain.

 _Use Flame Wheel and knock all of them out on my signal. They haven't attacked yet, so maybe they will leave us alone?_

Etain nodded. Kaia looked st Nereus.

 _The same thing goes for you. Use Tackle on my signal._

Nereus did not respond, and Kaia sighed.

"I forgot you do not understand me like that. Okay Nereus, use Tackle if they start attacking us. Never before. Understand?"

Nereus nodded and turned to face the patrat. One of the watchogs was about to attack, but another one stepped out in front of it. It said something, and the rest of them walked back into the bushes. The watchog stayed out and looked like it was challenging Nereus to a battle.

Kaia crouched down to see Nereus's expression better.

"Nereus, are you ready for this? I know you are not that strong yet."

The oshawott nodded and turned back to face the watchog. Kaia didn't turn to look, but she knew that Etain was looking at her.

 _Etain, be ready. If it is too much for Nereus, I want you to step in and help. I do not know how they will act if he loses._

Kaia did not see the growlithe's reaction, but she could tell that he nodded.

"Okay Nereus. Use Tackle on that watchog!"

Nereus ran toward the watchog and hit it. He then jumped back, ready for another attack. The watchog got up, and ran toward Nereus. Its fangs got longer and it was about to bite into Nereus.

"Nereus! Dodge!"

The oshawott jumped out of the way, getting his tail grazed by the watchog's fangs. Nereuswas unable to land on his feet, and fell back.

"Nereus get up!" shouted Kaia. Kaia did not think Nereus could fight more. She did not want to risk it either. A few of the warriors did come back from battles against wild pokemon saying that their partners were killed because they were not prepared. Kaia did not want to be one of those.

Nereus slowly got up, and Kaia called him back. The oshawott walked over to her. Kaia had forgotten he was basically a baby.

Kaia looked at Etain, and the growlithe immediately understood to jump into the battle. The watchog slowly stepped back. It knew that Etain could wipe it out with one hit. The watchog then ran back into the bushes.

When the watchog and patrat were gone, Kaia pet Etain and Nereus. Nereus was looking at Etain with sparkling eyes.

"You both did well," said Kaia, "I am proud of both of you."

Nereus looked away from Kaia. He didn't think he did a good job. The watchog challenged him to a fight, and he didn't fare well. Kaia looked at Nereus and sighed.

"Come on, look happier Nereus. You did a good job. This was only your first battle! Now, let me see that tail."

Nereus slowly turned around and let Kaia look at his tail. On Nereus's tail, there was a gash from the watchog's attack. He also started to feel extremely warm. Kaia was trying to think of what to do. She was still kind of close to Nuvema Town, so she could go back there. But that could take a while. It seemed like it would be faster to get to the next town.

"PokeDex, how far are we from Striaton City? We have to get there as quickly as possible."

She heard the voice sigh.

 _"Luckily for you, I have a map function available for you. We are closer to Striation City than Nuvema Town, but both are far from your current position."_

Kaia sighed and then started running with Nereus in one arm, and the PokeDex in the other.

"Okay, how much time will I take to get there at this pace?"

 _"I am not able to calculate that. If I must tell you, I think it would be around ten minutes."_

"Alright," said Kaia. _Hang in there Nereus. Etain, keep up with me and watch out for any attacking pokemon._

"Lithe!"

The pokemon trainer ended up arriving to Striaton City sooner than she was expected to. She ran around the city trying to find somewhere that would help Nereus. As always, Etain was right behind her. Toward the middle of the city, Kaia saw a lot of trainers with pokemon coming in and out of a building with an orange roof.

Kaia saw that the sign said that the building was called a Pokemon Center. Deciding that she could get Nereus help in there, she ran inside.

Inside the Pokemon Center, there was a desk in the middle of the room. A woman wearing a nurse uniform and with pink hair stood there smiling. Kaia ran up to her.

"Hello, and welcome to the Pokemon Center! How may I—"

"I need you to help my oshawott! He has a fever and a cut in his tail!"

The nurse looked shocked, and then immediately took Nereus and brought him to the back. As the nurse ran back, she called out to her audino, saying, "Audino! Watch the Pokemon Center for me!"

"Audinooo."

Kaia looked at the doors the nurse had taken Nereus through in shock. She could not believe she had let something like that happen. Etain sensed his trainer's worry and guilt and rubbed his head against her leg. Kaia walked toward a chair that was in the lobby and sat down. Etain walked over with her and layed down at her feet.

Kaia looked at Etain.

 _Great first day as a pokemon trainer, huh? Because of my incompetence, Nereus got hurt._

Etain barked and blew a little fire toward Kaia's face. Kaia let a small laugh escape.

"Okay, you are correct. I should not worry about something like that. He will get better, and everything will be okay. I am just tying to figure out how we should train if attacking wild pokemon is not going to work."

"Lithe, growl lithe."

Kaia smiled and took out her PokeDex.

"PokeDex, how do trainers normally train? Is that something you are even able to tell me?"

 _"Trainers normally have their pokemon attack different objects in a clearing. Some even train with their pokemon to build endurance and stamina. And could you stop calling me PokeDex. That's what I am, not my name."_

"Then, what should I call you?"

 _"Frederic."_

"Why Frederic?"

 _"Because I like that name. Seems fitting."_

"Fine then. Thank you, Frederic, for answering my question."

 _"Of course."_

Kaia sighed and put Frederic back in her bag. She then looked at Etain.

 _When we get out of here, we are going to do some training, but in a different way this time._

Etain nodded, and they both went back to looking forward, waiting for the nurse to be done with Nereus.

* * *

 **Another chapter done! It took me longer to finish than I expected, but it's out nonetheless! I'm going to update this fic at least twice every month. I haven the gottten to the point of setting up a specific day of the week that I will update, but I'll get to that another time.**

 **So yes, that's what I've got to say for this chapter. Hope you enjoyed!**


	3. Recovery and Training for the Gym

After waiting, Kaia noticed that the light above the door the nurse took Nereus through was turned off. The nurse came out without Nereus.

Kaia immediately stood up and rushed over toward the nurse. Etain quickly followed her. The worst senario was already running through her mind.

"Is Nereus okay?!"

"Growl!"

The nurse nodded.

"Yes, your oshawott is fine. He's just in recovery and should be out tomorrow. Pokemon do heal quickly after all."

Kaia let a sigh escape. What a relief. Nereus was going to be fine.

Etain moved his head under Kaia's hand. Kaia looked down at her growlithe and smiled.

"You did tell me not to worry. You were right Etain."

Etain's fur got warmer and after a while, Kaia pulled her hand away. It took her a while to notice that he was trying to burn her.

"What the fu — What was that for?!"

Etain just smirked and turned his head away. Kaia held her hand close to her chest and sighed. It still felt warm. Well, burns were expected with training any fire type.

The nurse smiled. She just loved seeing trainers and pokemon interact.

Kaia turned to the nurse and said, "Thank you for helping my pokemon."

Kaia looked at the little tag on the nurses uniform and saw that it read Joy.

"Thank you Nurse Joy."

Joy smiled again and said, "It's what I do. Your pokemon will be out shortly."

Kaia nodded and walked with Etain back to where she was sitting before. Once Kaia sat down, she sighed in relief.

 _I am glad he is okay. You were right Etain._

"Lithe!"

Kaia pet her growlithe again, and after a few hours, she saw Etain come back out with Nurse Joy.

"Nereus is all ready to go. He just needs to take it easy for a day or two."

Kaia nodded.

"Okay, thank you again."

"You're welcome! Have a good day and be careful out there!"

The center's doors closed behind Kaia. The trainer looked down at her pokemon.

"It is time to do some training!"

Etain and Nereus cheered, and Kaia pulled out Frederic, her PokeDex.

"Frederic, do you know of any secluded areas on a route nearby where we can train?"

 _"Allow me to check."_

Kaia waited a few moments, and then, the machine's voice came on again.

 _"It seems there is a location close to the route before the city you are in right now; where you had me scan that patrat. If you keep walking, you will find an area that most trainers do not enter."_

"Thank you."

She then put the PokeDex away and started walking toward that area in the route. She found the clearing where Nereus had battled the watchog, and kept walking. When she finished walking, she found another smaller clearing that looked untouched. There was a small stream running next to the clearing.

Kaia turned to her pokemon.

"Alright team, we are going to do some training."

Etain and Nereus looked excited. Nereus was about to jump up to practice a move, but Kaia stopped him before he could.

"Nereus, you need to sit up for a little bit and take it easy. Nurse Joy said that you are not ready to fight yet."

Nereus sighed and sat down. He then decided that he would show Kaia that he was well enough to train. He started shooting water from his mouth. Kaia didn't know, but after the battle with the watchog, Nereus had gained enough experience to learn Water Gun.

While Nereus was doing that, Kaia and Etain were looking at the clearing. Kaia felt for the dagger on her waist. She took it out and looked at the message again.

 _So I need to abandon fear..._ thought Kaia, _That should not be too hard._

Kaia held the dagger in her hand and started swinging it around. It felt like it belonged in her hand, like she should have had it all along. Maybe that is why it was given to her. She would definitely use it to protect herself.

Kaia put the dagger down and looked at Etain. Her pokemon was looking at Nereus practice Water Gun. Kaia looked at Nereus in surprise.

"Well I guess you are well enough to train."

"Osha!"

Kaia smirked and put her hands on her hips.

"Alright team, let us do some training!"

Her pokemon cheered and then quieted down.

"First of all, we are going to run a few laps. Then, you will practice your individual moves. We are going to strengthen that for the gym battle."

Her two pokemon nodded and got ready to run, and Kaia lined up with them. They started running and Nereus started falling behind, mainly because of his small size and short legs. Etain was running the fastest, with Kaia close behind.

After their laps, Nereus was the only one that was out of breath. He had to sprint the entire time to just to barely be close to his trainer and Etain. Nereus had flopped down on the ground afterwards and looked at the sky.

A while later, Nereus was still on the ground. Kaia and Etain looked at each other.

 _Did I push him too hard?_

Etain shrugged. Then, he nodded. Nereus _was_ just a baby pokemon after all.

Kaia sighed and scratched her cheek.

"I guess I am just too accustomed to having just you with me Etain. I do not know how to train a baby pokemon like that. I trained you, but it was so long ago."

"Lithe."

Nereus's ears twitched when he heard Kaia talking. It was like he missed parts of when she was talking to Etain sometimes. He slowly got up after regaining his energy and wobbled over to Kaia and the growlithe.

Kaia saw Nereus walking over and went to him and picked him up. She looked around and saw that some of the trees had berries on them. Kaia looked back at her pokemon and smirked.

"Are you guys hungry?"

Etain looked like he could not care less, while Nereus was nodding his head like crazy. Kaia giggled and put the oshawott down. She then walked over to one of the trees. It had sitrus berries on it. The tree next to it had tamato berries on it. Kaia picked one sitrus berry and two tomato berries. She crouched down in front of Nereus.

"I do not know if you like spicy foods, so here. It will replenish your strength and make you feel better."

The oshawott happily took the sitrus berry and started eating it. Kaia then got up and stepped over to Etain and gave him the first tamato berry and she ate the other one. It was really spicy, but she was used to it. Normal people would immediately run for water, but she was completely fine. Maybe it was because she was a fire specialty trainer. Kaia and Etain finished their berries at the same time, and then both burped. Soon after, Nereus finished his sitrus berry.

Kaia stood up.

"Alright, that break was long enough. It is time to get back to training," said Kaia, "Etain, you first. Use Flame Wheel!"

The growlithe nodded and created the wheel of fire around him. He then kept spinning until he was further down the clearing. The pokemon made sure not to hit anything that could catch fire and spread quickly. Etain finished using the move and then ran back to Kaia. He looked up at his trainer expectantly, and to his delight, Kaia nodded.

"Good job Etain, it is just as good as the last time you used it."

Etain yipped happily, and then Kaia turned to Nereus.

"Alright Nereus, time to try out the new move you learned; use Water Gun!"

Nereus nodded and used the move. Water squirted out of his mouth and the shot of water kept going without hitting anything.

Kaia crossed her arms and nodded. This clearing was a pretty good place to train, Frederic the PokeDex was right.

Kaia had her pokemon do a few more things, and then she called another break for them. While they were on their break, Kaia did some exercise herself. She could not get behind on her own training. She also needed to get used to having that dagger with her. Kaia got on the ground and did some pushups, sit-ups, and things like that. When she was done with all of that, she started training with her dagger some more. She swung it around and acted like she was stabbing something.

When she finished, she was sweating like crazy and out of breath. Kaia looked around for some water and remembered the stream that was near the clearing. It looked like it was a freshwater stream, so it should be fine to drink. Before Kaia decided to try and drink out of it, she decided to check if she had water in her trainer bag or not. She grabbed the bag that she had put on the ground prior to her training and looked through it. After searching, she saw that she did have a water bottle that was full. Kaia opened it and drank out of it. After that, she went to the sitrus berry tree, picked one of the berries and ate it.

When she was done with her berry, she looked at her pokemon.

"It is time to go back to the Pokemon Center. The sun is already starting to set."

Her two pokemon nodded, and they all started making their way back to the Pokemon Center. When they walked in, Kaia found Nurse Joy at the counter as usual. Nurse Joy looked at Kaia and smiled.

"Welcome to the Pokemon Center! How may I help you?"

"I was wondering if you had any rooms here? I cannot seem to find an inn anywhere."

Nurse Joy giggled.

"Yes we do have rooms here for all trainers. The rooms are free for three days; after that you have to pay."

Kaia nodded and said, "Yes that will work. Thank you."

Nurse Joy came from behind the counter holding a room key. She then signaled for Kaia to follow her. Nurse Joy led Kaia and the trainer's pokemon to a room in the middle of the hallway on the left side. Nurse Joy handed Kaia her key, and Kaia thanked her.

Kaia entered the room, and Nurse Joy left. Inside the room, there were two beds.

 _It looks like there is the option to have a roommate,_ thought Kaia, _I guess a lot of the trainers travel in groups, and not on their own?_

Kaia flopped down on the bed.

 _What would it be like? To have a traveling partner?_

Etain jumped on Kaia, causing her to laugh.

 _Of course Etain. You and Nereus are the only partners I need._

The growlithe yipped again and then jumped off of his trainer. Then, Nereus got up on the bed after much difficulty, and snuggled into his trainer's side. It was the first night with his new trainer, and he was excited; after being in the professor's lab for so long, this was perfect.

Etain growled, and then jumped up to snuggle next to Kaia as well. Kaia sighed. It looked like these were the sleeping accommodations for tonight. Hopefully it would not be too hard to fall asleep.

* * *

Lucky, it was really easy for Kaia to fall asleep. The next thing she knew, it was morning, and her pokemon were trying to get her to wake up. It was mainly Etain who was jumping on her. Nereus was just pulling her cheeks. Kaia swatted Nereus away, and got up quickly so Etain would fall over. She was successfully able to get Etain to fall on the ground, causing her to laugh. Etain barked angrily and blew fire at her.

"That is what you get for jumping on me like that. What happened to the little puppy that would wake me up by licking my face?"

"Lithe growl lithe."

Kaia sighed. "So you already tried that and it didn't work? Sorry about that Etain."

Etain nodded and smirked.

"Wipe that smirk off of your face! That still gives you no excuse to jump on me like I am your toy!"

Etain looked down, and Nereus was snickering. Kaia looked at Nereus, and that was all it took to get him to shut up. Kaia sighed again and looked at Etain.

"Come here."

Etain quickly ran over to Kaia and started licking her face. It made Kaia fall over and Etain moved to keep licking her face. Somehow, Kaia found the strength to push the dog off of her and stood up. She wiped a little of the slobber off of her face. She put her hands on her hips and looked at her team.

"Alright team! I think today is the day to challenge that gym. What do you guys think?"

The two pokemon cheered and nodded like crazy. Kaia smirked and started walking out the door, when her stomach growled. Kaia laughed nervously.

"But maybe we should get some breakfast first?"

"Osha."

"Lithe."

Kaia and her pokemon walked out of the room to get some food. All Kaia had to do was follow the signs to be able to get to the cafeteria for the trainers staying in the Pokemon Center. It was relatively simple to get there.

Once Kaia and her pokemon were in the cafeteria, she went up to the line and looked at the menu. Kaia looked at all the options and frowned. All of them had some sort of meat in them, and Kaia did not like eating meat. She would be eating pokemon. Kaia sighed. Maybe there was a way for her to get the food without the meat.

She looked further down the menu and saw that there were different options for pokemon food as well. The pokemon food looked like different varieties of pellets. Kaia had not ever seen anything like that; it just was not acceptable. Kaia decided that she would just order a berry salad and give that to her pokemon.

"-I help you?"

Kaia looked forward, and saw that it was her turn to order.

"Oh sorry, I did not hear you."

The girl behind the counter smiled.

"Don't worry about it; What do you want to order?"

"I would like two of those berry salads, and one of those breakfast specials without the meat, if that is okay?"

The girl nodded.

"Yes of course. Is that all?"

"Yes."

"Okay, then your order will be out shortly. Thank you, and come again soon!"

Kaia walked out of the line and waited. She was expecting to have to pay for something, but she didn't.

 _I guess a lot of people end up staying more than three days, since they have the money to get all this food and offer it for free._

Nereus looked up at his trainer in surprise. She did not buy them a crap ton of pokemon food like all the other trainers. He smiled. The oshawott liked the trainer he ended up with. She even gave him a pretty cool nickname.

After a while of waiting, Kaia got her food and sat down with her pokemon. They quickly ate and exited the Pokemon Center.

When they were outside, they walked just until they were right in front of the Striaton Gym. Kaia spun around and looked at her pokemon team.

"Okay team, we are going to challenge the gym. Are you ready?"

Her team cheered.

"Then let us go!"

* * *

 **Alright, so that took a little longer to get out than I expected. I just had a huge rush of homework and stuff to do, so I didn't get a lot of time to write. But, I will for sure get another chapter up for the month as I promised.**

 **I hope you enjoyed, and you'll see the battle in the next chapter!**


	4. Crushing the First Gym

Kaia and her pokemon stood in front of the gym. Kaia took a a breath in, and walked through the doors.

The gym looked like a cafe or restaurant. Kaia looked around in amazement. Were all gyms like this? Or did each of them have a specific theme to them? As Kaia was looking around, a waiter with green hair and a green bow tie walked up to her.

"How may I help you?"

Kaia was not expecting him to come up behind her, so she jumped a little. She starred at him and he smiled nervously. Kaia cleared her throat and looked the waiter in the eye.

"I think I would like the Battle Special."

As Kaia said this, she glanced back at her pokemon. The waiter smiled, crossed his arms, and put his hand on his chin. He closed his eyes, and it looked like he was thinking.

"...Yes, Battle Special... I like that!" He then put his hands on his hips. "Follow me."

Kaia followed him past all the other customers, and further into the back of the cafe. As they were walking, Kaia glanced behind her at Etain, who was carrying Nereus on his back.

 _We can do this, right Etain?_

"Growl lithe lithe growl."

Kaia laughed softly. Of course they could do this. It was just a gym for a silly little badge. It's not like it was for the control of a kingdom. She could relax a little more with this battle.

She was led down some stairs to a battle field. The field was on the lower level, while there was a spectating area up above. One side of the battlefield was empty, and the other side had two men that were dressed like waiters. The waiter that had led Kaia to the battlefield walked over and joined them, and Kaia took her place at the other side of the battlefield.

"So you are a gym leader?"

He nodded.

"Yes. My brothers and I are the three gym leaders of the Striation Gym. My name's Cilan, and these are Chili and Cress."

Chili was the one with red hair, and Cress was the one with blue hair. Kaia nodded to each of them. Once that was done, Cilan nodded and continued.

"Now, if you could tell me, trainer, what starter pokemon did you pick?"

Kaia was about to respond, when Nereus jumped out in front of her. Kaia nodded down at the pokemon.

"As you can see, I picked oshawott, and my name is Kaia. Not trainer."

Cilan nodded and said, "It looks like you will be facing me then. I specialize in grass type pokemon."

Chili and Cress took a few steps back, and Cilan took a step forward. He fixed his bow tie and took his place at the battlefield. He grabbed a pokeball and let a pokemon out. It was a little tan puppy with a black back.

Kaia looked at the puppy.

 _So his first pokemon is a lillipup? Nereus can handle this battle, and then Etain can take care of the grass pokemon._

Kaia looked down at Nereus, and the water pokemon understood that he was to battle first. He stepped out onto the battlefield, ready to start. Chili and Cress moved to the side of the battlefield.

"We'll act as the referees," said Cress, "The rules are simple: only the challenger is allowed to switch pokemon, and it is a two on two battle. Whoever has the most pokemon left at the end wins."

"Now let the battle begin!" said Chili while pumping his fist in the air.

Cilan smiled and said, "Use Bite!"

The small dog ran toward Nereus and was about to bite him.

"Dodge!"

Nereus was not fast enough and got hit by the lillipup. The oshawott flew back, and hit the ground. Kaia looked at her pokemon in worry.

"Nereus! Get up!"

The oshawott slowly got up and looked ready to fight. Kaia smirked.

"Good. Now use Water Gun!"

Nereus nodded and hit the lillipup with the move. The small pup was pushed back, and took damage from the water attack.

"Water Gun again!" said Kaia, "Then follow up with a Tackle!"

Nereus nodded and used Water Gun again, and when the lillipup was on the ground, the oshawott used Tackle. The lillipup was knocked back again, and was close to bing knocked out.

"Use Bite!" shouted Cilan, "Don't give up yet!"

His lillipup got up and nodded. He ran toward Nereus and bite the oshawott. With that bite, Nereus got a little weaker and lost a little energy.

"Nereus, use Water Gun! He has almost no energy left!"

The oshawott turned to Kaia and nodded. He then turned back around and used the water type move again. The lillipup got thrown back again, and this time, it couldn't get back up.

Chilli and Cress looked at lillipup. Cress raised a flag toward Kaia.

"Lillipup is unable to battle," he said.

"That means the challenger is the winner!" said Chilli. Cress looked at Kaia.

"Challenger Kaia, would you like to substitute pokemon?"

Kaia nodded. Since the next pokemon would be a grass type, it would make sense for Etain to go out to face it. Kaia looked at her partner.

 _It is finally your turn._

"Go Etain!" said Kaia. Etain nodded and stepped out onto the battlefield, and Cilan sent out his pansage.

"Go Sage!"

Once Etain saw his opponent, fire started surrounding his mouth, showing that he was ready to fight. Kaia crossed her arms and smirked.

 _I am going to give you commands like this when I am battling with you. The opponent will not know what they will be attacked with._

Etain looked back at Kaia and nodded. He then faced the pansage again.

Cilan took this chance of them doing nothing to get ready.

"Sage, use Work Up!"

Once the pansage used the move, it looked like he was jumping around a lot more. It was like he just got super energized. Kaia saw that Etain was starting to get a little antsy. As if he were a little worried for what was to come. Kaia smirked.

 _Is my little baby growlithe too scared to fight? Maybe I should put Nereus back in. Although he is the one that has the type disadvantage, he might have a chance to win. Oh well, I guess my toughened up growlithe is too scared. Apparently, Ransei did nothing for us._

Etain looked at Kaia and growled. He then turned back around and barked.

"Sage, use Work Up again!" said Cilan. This could work very nicely for him. Because Kaia and her growlithe were stalling, he could set up and raise Sage's attack the pansage's ineffective grass type move could do a lot of damage.

Kaia saw what was happening and saw she had to take charge of the situation and knock out the pansage.

 _Etain, use Flame Wheel._

The growlithe started running towards the pansage, and then started rolling toward it as he generated fire around him. Etain hit the pansage, and almost knocked it out. The pansage flew back, getting dirt and scratches on him. Cilan looked at Kaia in surprise. Was she allowing Etain to do whatever he wanted? Or was there something more?

 _It looks like we have them confused. Good. Now Etain, use Fire Fang!_

Fire formed around Etain's jaws. He ran and bit the pansage, causing more damage and making Sage faint. Cilan had tried to tell his pokemon to dodge, but Etain came too fast. There was not a chance for Sage to get out of the way. Dust was thrown up, making little clouds that hid if Sage fainted or not.

Once the dust cleared, it was revealed that Sage had fainted. Cress nodded.

"Sage is unable to battle. Etain wins."

"And that means Challenger Kaia is the winner!" said Chili.

Cilan nodded and looked at his pokemon.

"Sage, return."

The pansage was surrounded by a red light and was sucked into the pokeball. Cilan then walked over to Kaia. He was holding something shiny in his hand. When he was in front of Kaia, his brothers joined him.

"This is the Trio Badge, proof that you have beaten the gym," said Cilan, "Gym Badges are a proof of a Trainer's abilities. If you have one Badge, Pokémon, including traded Pokémon up to Lv. 20, will obey you without question. We also want you to have this. TM83 contains Work Up. If you use Work Up, the Pokémon's Attack and Sp. Atk go up! By the way, TMs can be used as many times as you want."

Kaia nodded and took the badge and smiled. She then looked at Etain.

 _Our first badge! We did it!_

Etain nodded and barked happily. Kaia bent down and picked Nereus up off the ground.

"Good job Nereus, you did great out there."

"Osha!"

The trio of gym leaders looked at each other. Chil smiled kindly.

"I know that fire types can get temperamental and are a little hard to train, but I know you'll get the hang of it."

Kaia blinked. She didn't know why he was saying that. She knew fire types were hard to train. She trained Etain for as long as she could remember. She even hatched him from an egg.

"I do not understand why you are telling me this," said Kaia with uncertainty in her voice, "I know that fire types are temperamental. I raised Etain."

The three gym leaders looked at each other. If this trainer had raised her pokemon for a really long time, then why did it attack without her saying anything?

"Then why did you let Etain attack like that?" asked Cilan.

"You were just letting him attack!" said Chili.

"So you three cannot communicate with your pokemon like that?" asked Kaia, "What a shame. I thought that at least gym leaders would be able to do that."

The three gym leaders looked down at their monkeys. Kaia smiled.

"It was fun to battle you Cilan. I think I did a good job for my first gym battle, huh?"

With that, Kaia walked out of the gym, leaving the three gym leaders to look at her in shock. What was she? If she could have that great of a bond with her growlithe before even the first gym battle, what else was she capable of?

* * *

 **Yes! Short chapter! I know. I just didn't really have any time to write. It's getting to the end of the year, and AP exams are coming up. I'll do my best to update at least two more times this month, but no promises. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed!**


	5. Journey to Nacrene

Kaia left the gym and looked around. It wasn't really that late yet. She could probably make it to the next town if she left right away. All that was left was to buy food and water for the journey.

Kaia looked down at Nereus and Etain. They both looked really tired, and Kaia decided that it would be a good idea to stop at the Pokemon Center first. Kaia took out both of their pokeballs.

"I know you two are tired, so you are going to have to go in here for a while."

Nereus nodded, and so did Etain. Kaia pointed their pokeballs at them, and returned them back to their pokeballs. She then looked at the two red and white spheres. It was so weird to use them when she was so used to having pokemon walk around her. It was pretty amazing how people thought if these things.

Kaia walked into the Pokemon Center. She walked up to the counter where Nurse Joy was, and handed her the pokeballs.

"Could you heal my pokemon for me? Thanks."

Nurse Joy happily took the two pokeballs and nodded.

"Don't worry; this will be just a moment."

Kaia nodded, and went to sit down. After a while of waiting, Nurse Joy came back and handed the trainer the two pokeballs. Kai let her pokemon out, and Etain immediately jumped on her. Kaia smiled, and felt their link increase. It must be getting close to full.

Kaia looked outside. By now it had gotten kind of late. She could stay in the center for two more nights for free. But, she didn't like to sit still in one place for too long, so she would leave the next morning.

Kaia walked to her room and opened the door. Inside she found another trainer, sitting on her bed. Kaia closed the door and made sure she had the right room. She did. Kaia openned the door again and looked at the other trainer.

"What are you doing here?" Kaia asked the girl. The girl had a blitzle with her, black hair, a yellow jacket, capris, black sneakers, and a black and white shirt. Her eyes were an electric blue. She also was wearing a black and white baseball hat.

The girl scratched the back of her neck.

"This was the only room that was left," she said, "So I was put in here. Nurse Joy said I would be having a roommate, I guess that's since you travel alone."

"I do not travel alone!"

"If you don't, then how come you are the only one in this room?"

"W-well..."

"Wow that's lame."

Kaia glared at the girl.

"If it is so lame, then why are you alone too? If you were traveling with someone else, you would not have been able to be in this room!"

The girl smiled sheepishly and said, "You're right there. My name's Dani. Nice to meet you roomie."

"Yeah, pleased to meet you."

Dani giggled. "Nice sarcasm. Get rid of that glare. It's not my fault."

Kaia sighed, and Dani held her hand out. Kaia took her hand and shook it.

"Let's try this again; I'm Dani."

"My name is Kaia."

Dani smiled and layed back on Kaia's bed. Etain growled.

"That is my bed," said Kaia, "I was in that one before."

Dani nodded and got up. She moved to the other bed and layed down. Kaia layed down on her own bed, and her pokemon got in it too.

After a while of silence, Dani called out to Kaia.

"Yo, Kaia."

"Hm."

"Why do you talk all proper like that? Seriously, you need to chill and talk normally."

Kaia didn't answer.

 _I guess I could try that. It would help me blend in more._

"I was taught to speak like that," said Kaia.

"By who?"

"None of your business," said Kaia. She didn't want to talk about her personal life to a stranger. Kaia knew she should have been more careful when introducing herself, but that thought slipped her mind until that moment.

Kaia was just here to sleep, not to get to know anyone.

Dani closed her eyes.

"Ok, fine. Whatever," she said.

Kaia closed her eyes, and her pokemon snuggled closer to her.

* * *

The next morning, Kaia got up before Dani. Kaia got ready and left the room with her walked up to the counter and gave Nurse Joy her room key.

"Wow," said Nurse Joy, "You're up early."

Kaia nodded.

"I want to get a head start on the way to the next town," she said. Nurse Joy nodded.

"Thank you for staying at the Pokemon Center. We hope you enjoyed your stay!"

Kaia smiled and walked out the door. Once she was out of the Pokemon Center, she went to sit down on a bench. She then took Frédéric out.

"Frédéric, tell me where the next town is."

 _"So pushy,"_ complained the PokeDex, _"The next town is Nacrene City, and there is another gym there as well."_

"Thanks Fred," said Kaia as she nodded.

 _"Fred? That's not my name."_

"Well, that is — that's what I'm calling you now. Do you want me to keep calling you that long name instead of the nickname?"

 _"Well, no. I guess not."_

"Exactly. Thanks Fred."

Kaia closed the PokeDex and got up from the bench. She walked out of Striaton City with her pokemon, and of course, it was after getting some supplies for the trip to Nacrene City. Kaia didn't know how long it would take her to get to Nacrene. It could take a few days for all she knew. Kaia got her supplies and headed out for the city.

On the route, Kaia took the chance to train her pokemon a little. She was able to get a few more levels up on both Etain and Nereus. By the time they were pretty close to the end of the route, Kaia decided to take a break with her pokemon. She took the chance to eat some berries from the trees, and drinking some of the water she had packed.

Kaia had found a tree of Oran Berries, and decided to pick them for both her and her pokemon. Nereus really liked the berries, but both Kaia and Etain preferred the spicy Tamato Berries. Kaia looked at Etain.

 _Do you want to find a Tamato plant? I know you like those better._

Etain barked and nodded. His tail started wagging too. Kaia laughed to herself. Etain was the same puppy as ever, even if he was getting more mature. It might soon be time to find a Fire Stone for him. Kaia got up and Nereus looked up. Kaia smiled.

"Nereus, come on; we're gonna look for some more berries."

Nereus nodded and jumped on Kaia's head, causing the trainer and the growlithe to look at each other in confusion. It looked like Nereus was getting more comfortable around his trainer.

Kaia kept walking, and then she pushed the branches of some bushes and trees out of the way, revealing a tree with some of the spicy berries. Kaia picked two, and gave one to her growlithe. Etain happily ate all of the berry, and Kaia ate hers as well. When they finished eating, Kaia and her pokemon started making their way to Nacrene City once again.

Etain ran ahead of Kaia, and Nereus followed. Kaia smiled and watched her pokemon. It actually felt really nice to walk around like that. No worries, no having to go back to the castle in Aurora to prepare for a battle, and no having to worry about battles to defend the caste and the kingdom. She could just stroll and look at the scenery.

Kaia laughed to herself. She was always one of the lazy Warriors, even if she was pretty skilled. Her father always tried to find ways to motivate her to train and participate in the battles. If she didn't take part, it would always be really hard to win. Kaia looked up at the sky. If she kept thinking like this, she was going to get homesick. Kaia looked back to her pokemon, and it looked like they were having fun. It was so peaceful.

Rustling of grass was then followed by a sharp pain in Kaia's side. Kaia down, and saw that she had a deep gash in her side. She then looked around and heard more rustling of grass. Was she going to get attacked again? Kaia looked to Etain and Nereus. The both of them seemed to be fine...for now.

"Etain! Nereus!" yelled Kaia, "Get back here now!"

The pokemon glanced at their trainer, and Etain immediately knew something was up. The two pokemon immediately stood by their trainer's side. Kaia looked at Nereus.

"Nereus, get in my bag and stay out of sight."

The oshawott nodded and climbed into Kaia's messenger bag. Kaia was forced to put her left hand on her right side. She then got her dagger out. Kaia and Etain then started running.

 _Etain! Use Ember on anything that gets close. You can use Flame Wheel and Fire Fang as well, but be careful. Whatever is attacking has blades to attack with._

Kaia kept running with her growlithe.

"Nereus! Try to use Water Gun on anything that comes near! Other than that, stay in the bag!"

"Osha!"

Kaia winced. She had to hurry and get away from the area, and either find someone to help her, or get away from the attack so Etain could burn the wound.

Kaia lifted up her dagger just in time to block an attack on her left, which gave her a chance to look at what was attacking her. It looked like a pawniard. But those don't attack without a bisharp around, so it had to be around somewhere commanding the attack. Etain used Ember on another pawniard that came close, and so did Nereus. Kaia blocked an attack from the front and then got hit in the back twice. The first was a stab, and the other was a slash. Etain and Nereus were able to get those two pawniard out of the way.

Out of the corner of her eye, Kaia saw a pokemon running in the shadows of the trees. It was bigger than the other pawniard and was kind of trying to stay out of sight. Kaia smirked. That was the bisharp commanding the attack. If she was able to intimidate that pokemon, the entire group would retreat. Luckily for Kaia, the bisharp was actually catching up to her. Kaia ran near it and slashed at it with her dagger. The bisharp blocked her attacks with its own blades.

Kaia tried attacking again, and the bishop blocked her attack again. Kaia then barely dodged an attack from one of the pawniard. She attacked again, and landed one slash on the bisharp. Kaia then jumped back a little and called out to Etain.

 _Etain, focus your attacks on the pokemon in front of me, in the trees. It's the bisharp commanding the attack._

The growlithe nodded and ran toward the bisharp. Etain used Flame Wheel on the bisharp and was able to hit it, almost knocking it out. Etain then used Ember, which turned into Flamethrower. This knocked the bisharp out, and caused the pawniard to retreat, just as Kaia thought they would do.

Kaia and Etain kept running to Nacrene. They had to be extremely close by now. Kaia was starting to feel light-headed, and tripped over her own feet. She got up, and noticed that Etain looked kind of weak as well. Kaia looked closer at Etain and saw that he had a deep gash on his side, as well as on his left back leg.

"It's just a little longer," said Kaia, out of breath, "I'll get you to the Pokemon Center once we get to Nacrene."

Nereus looked up at Kaia with worry, and looked scared for Etain as well.

After a little more, Kaia and her team were able to make it to Nacrene City. Kaia immediately ran to the Pokemon Center, and was only able to start calling out for help before she collapsed from exhaustion and blood loss.

* * *

 **Dun dun duunnnn. Cliff hanger!**

 **Happy summer break to anyone who's on that now! Because I am! And you know what that means! I will probably be able to update more during the break, which means more chapters for you!**

 **So yeah. I hope you enjoyed this chapter, and I'll see you in the next one! Stay tuned to see what happens next!**


	6. Looks Like It's Rough Being a Trainer

Everyone in the Pokemon Center stared at the unconscious trainer in shock. Nurse Joy was the first to react, taking Etain with her into the ER in the Pokemon Center. Two trainers that were waiting for their own pokemon called the hospital. One of them took a rag that Nurse Joy had, and applied pressure to the wounds that Kaia had.

The female trainer looked at her travel partner, the trainer that was holding the rag to Kaia's wounds.

"What do you think could have done this?" she asked.

"I don't know," said the male trainer, "I've never seen anything like this before."

All the townspeople in Nacrene were in a buzz. Both trainer and pokemon were in the ER of the hospital and Pokemon Center respectively. What could have caused it? It looked like it could have been a Scyther swarm, but there aren't really any Scyther in Unova. Plus, normally, trainers don't survive Scyther swarms in other regions.

Some people were in the waiting room of the hospital, waiting for the doctor to come out and say what caused the wounds the trainer had. Attacks like these were the reason that the age for Pokemon Trainers in Unova was raised to fifteen instead of ten. Ten year olds were too young to go out into the world to face dangerous wild pokemon like this. Many people complained, getting the League to raise the age as a result.

The light above the doors in the operating room turned off, and the doctor walked out. People in the waiting room got closer to the door and the doctor. They were all waiting for an answer to their question: what had attacked that trainer?

The doctor sighed.

"The trainer was attacked by a group of pawniard," he said, "That's what we can tell from her injuries."

The people in the waiting room started murmuring. How could a group of pawniard be this close to a city? They weren't even supposed to be close to Nacrene at all. And if these pawniard moved from their normal hunting grounds, then what did this mean for other pokemon, especially dangerous pokemon as well as trainers on routes? Would more limits have to be placed on the age for trainers to go out? Or would it even be safe anymore?

The room grew quiet as this settled in. Two Pokemon Rangers, a boy and a girl, got up and looked at each other. They both wore their red uniforms and belts with pokeballs. If something like this was occurring more and more, there needed to be an increase of rangers on the routes, and more officials as well. Things were not looking good.

The two rangers got up and left the needed to be reported right away.

* * *

A day later, Kaia woke up to bright white lights and the smell of medicine. She tried to get up, but she found that she couldn't really move. It hurt too much to move. Kaia looked around and took in her surroundings. She was laying in a bed, and the room had two chairs in it. There was a door that looked like it led to a bathroom, and a door on the right side of the room that most likely led outside. On the left side of the room, there were some windows. On one of the walls, there was a whiteboard with notes scribbled in marker, and on the other walls, there were some paintings of flowers.

Kaia looked up at the ceiling. The reason she was feeling so much pain was because of the pawniard and bisharp attack. She got rid of some of the pawniard, and then went to fight the bisharp. She called for Etain to take it on and-Etain! Where was Etain?

Kaia shot up in the bed, wincing terribly from the pain. She had to see if Etain was okay! He couldn't have died, could he?

Kaia shook her head. Her growlithe could not be taken down so easily. There was just no way that could happen.

The trainer tried to get out of the bed when she heard a noise. The door had just opened, and a man wearing a white lab coat walked in. He stopped walking and put his hands in the pockets of his lab coat.

"Already up I see."

Kaia looked at him.

"You really shouldn't move unless you want to reopen your wounds," said the doctor, "That would make you stay here longer than you have to."

"Where am I?"

"In the hospital in Nacrene City. Now, I want you to confirm something for me."

"Where is my growlithe?"

"In the Pokemon Center; he's in treatment like you were. What kind of pokemon attacked you? Was it a group of pawniard and bisharp?"

Kaia slowly nodded, and the doctor looked grim. So it was true that a group of pawniard and bisharp attacked a trainer that probably wasn't that deep into the route. Not many of these occurrences had happened, but the number of dead trainers because of wild pokemon were growing. If this kept going, what would that mean for the region?

The doctor looked grim. This was not good news. He looked at Kaia.

"Stay in bed and get some rest."

"What about my growlithe?" asked Kaia.

The doctor left without saying anything, and closed the door behind him.

"Hey!" yelled Kaia, "I asked you a question!"

The door stayed shut, and a response did not come. Kaia groaned. Now she had nothing to do. She couldn't even reach for Fred. Forget reaching the PokeDex, she didn't even know where it was. Kaia sighed again. She put a hand on her head. Why did this have to end up happening to her? She was fine back in her own home, and now she was in hospitals after wild pokemon came after her. How much did the legendaries hate her? Especially Arceus. It was his fault she was in this mess. Kaia groaned loudly.

Fuck the legendaries.

* * *

 **Alrighty, I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter, although it is a little short. I'm not really sure how long I'll make these chapters yet, do it'll kind of depend on how I'm feeling.**

 **But don't legendaries screw up everything? They're basically the gods in the pokemon world, and they just do whatever they want,** **especially in this fic. This might pick up a little more after a few more chapters, so stay tuned for that! I hope you've enjoyed, and I'll see you in the next one!**


	7. Hospital Days

Kaia twirled the spoon in her hand as she looked at the tamato berry soup. Finally they gave her something other than oran or sitrus berry related foods. She welcomed the great spicy taste, but she didn't want to be stuck there anymore. She was worried about Etain, and she needed to see her linked partner. And what happened to Nereus? Was the oshawott okay?

The trainer finished her soup and proceeded to throw her spoon across the room. How much longer did she have to stay in the stupid room not being able to do anything?

Kaia sighed. Now her only form of semi-entertainment was laying on the ground on the other side of the room. She couldn't do anything else at the moment, not even reach for her PokeDex, or grab a book to read. Earlier, she had tried to get up and find where Etain was to check up on him, but all she succeeded in doing was opening one of her wounds. She definitely did not want to go through that again.

The opened, revealing the doctor from before with his hands in his lab coat as always.

"How's it going?" he asked.

Kaia glared at him. That was definitely not the question she wanted to be asked right now.

The doctor looked a little surprised. Normally when he asked that question, his patients would not get that upset. Probably because they were closer to full recovery and leaving the hospital. Not Kaia, especially how she had re-opened her wound. He chuckled nervously.

"Heh. Uh, sorry."

Kaia's glare pierced him.

"Unless you have something to say other than stupid shit like that, I don't want to hear it, Doctor Russell. Now get out."

Doctor Russell nodded and left the room. Kaia groaned and looked back up at the ceiling. She had just cursed. She never does that, and usually gets in trouble for it. But, there was no one to do that now. Kaia looked out the window. Maybe she didn't have to worry about her speech and actions anymore. It would definitely be a relief to not have to worry about being extremely proper anymore; she could act freely more often.

Kaia looked around for something to do. Her spoon was still on the ground, and she had no way to get it.

The trainer sighed again. She finally decided to just look out the window. She had finished her soup, and she had nothing else to do, so why the hell not? It gave her the chance to people watch. She really hoped she was going to get out of there soon.

* * *

A few days later, the door to the room opened. Etain and Nereus ran in and jumped on their trainer, causing Kaia to wince. Her pokemon together were heavier than she expected. Nereus didn't seem to notice, but Etain did. He got off of Kaia and picked Nereus as well. Kaia let a breath out and smiled. Both of them were fine. Since pokemon healed a lot faster, it only made sense that Etain would be up and moving before Kaia. Although, Kaia's side was feeling a little better.

Etain looked at Kaia for a moment, and then licked her face. Kaia smiled. If Etain was already back to being hyper, then she could at least get out of bed. Kaia slowly got out of the bed, and with some difficulty, stood up.

Kaia took a few steps forward and smiled triumphantly. She only had wounds on her back and side, so why wouldn't she be able to walk?

Kaia walked around a little more and was soon out of breath. Kaia groaned. Just doing that was enough to tire her out. But, if she kept working like this, she would be able to regain her strength so she could get out of the hospital and everything would go back to normal. At least, that's what she hoped.

The trainer decided to walk toward the window. Some sunlight was shining through after all. Kaia did like sitting in the sun after all. It always made her feel good.

Kaia pulled up a chair and sat down in the sunlight. She could feel the warmth spreading throughout her body, and it felt so refreshing.

Etain walked over to Kaia and sat down in the sunlight as well. Since he was a fire-type, being in the sunlight made him feel stronger. Actually, being near anything warm made him feel stronger.

Kaia looked down at Etain and started petting his head. His fur felt so warm, but that was probably because of the sunlight. Kaia closed her eyes and smiled. This felt just like it did when she was back in Ransei after a big battle with another kingdom. She would just lay down on the grass and soak in the sun with Etain.

* * *

The next day, the Doctor Russell came in to check on Kaia's wounds. He looked at Kaia in shock. Her wounds were so much better - they were almost completely healed, when only a few days ago, it showed that she would need to be in the hospital for at least another month. Now it was like she could leave in a day.

Doctor Russell shook his head. He just couldn't believe it. It was impossible. There was just no way a person could heal that quickly. That was something only pokemon did. It was something that a human just could not do.

Kaia looked at the doctor.

"Something wrong? What's taking you so long?"

Doctor Russell sighed and closed his eyes.

"You should be able to leave tomorrow," said the doctor, "I don't know how it happened, but the wounds you have are almost fully healed."

Etain and Nereus started celebrating, and Kaia smiled. She would only have to be cooped up in there for one more day. Then, she would be able to get back on track for her journey.

While the trainer and her two pokemon were celebrating, Doctor Russell was silently watching this display. Maybe he shouldn't mention it. Kaia was a pain when they had to put the IV in her arm. He could just surprise her with it. She _was_ rude to him a few days ago. This could just be a small form of payback from him to her.

Doctor Russell headed toward the door.

"I'll come and check up on you a little later."

Kaia nodded, and the doctor left the room.

Doctor closed the door behind him and found one of the nurses. He kept his hands in his pockets while he called her over.

"Yes Doctor Russell?" she asked.

"I need you to do blood work on the patient Kaia Iltiné. I want to run some tests on her blood."

The nurse smiled.

"Of course. I'll get someone to take a sample of her blood."

The nurse and Doctor Russell parted ways to go on with their individual jobs.

In the room, Kaia was looking out the window again. During the past few weeks she was in that room, looking out the window had become her most common past time. Although, there weren't that many people to watch today. Kaia sighed in boredom, then softly chuckled. It seemed like she was doing a lot more of that lately. There wasn't really anything to do in the room. It wasn't like she was on a route and soaking in the sunlight; she had to sit in that room with no chance of going outside until the next day.

The door opened and revealed a nurse. Kaia looked at her with a confused expression. She was expecting the doctor to come back in. Why was that nurse in there? There weren't any other tests that they had to do, right?

Kaia spotted the needle that the nurse was holding.

"Woah woah woah," said Kaia, "What are you going to do with that?!"

"I'm just gonna take a quick blood sample," said the nurse, "It's not a big deal; it'll be alright. Please, Miss Iltiné, stay still for the time being."

Kaia ignored her and tried to scoot out of the bed, but the nurse held her steady.

"It'll be over before you know it. Just calm down; it's all going to be okay."

Kaia looked down and squeezed her eyes shut. She was not going to enjoy this. One thing she hated about this new world was definitely the needles for taking blood and vaccinations. They just didn't make sense to her. Of course it was probably like that for a reason, she just didn't like it. Why couldn't they do tests like this in a different way? Like scanning or something? There was just no way she was going to understand that type of thing.

The trainer noticed that the nurse had four different tubes with her.

 _She's going to fill all of those up with my blood?! Why does she need so much?!_

Etain jumped up and licked Kaia's hand for support. Kaia had accidentally used their link without noticing. Kaia looked down at her growlithe and smiled. No matter what, he was always there for her.

The nurse put the needle in Kaia's right arm and started taking some of the blood. She connected the first tube to the needle and filled it with Kaia's blood. Kaia winced and started shaking a little. Each time the nurse connected another tube to the needle. Kaia started shaking even more than she was before. When this tube was filled, the nurse would be halfway done. But, to Kaia, it felt like an eternity.

Kaia sighed. How could she be fine with getting stabbed by a wild pokemon, but was terrified of a nurse putting a needle in her arm?

Soon, the nurse was done filling the fourth tube. Kaia breathed a sigh of relief and glared at the nurse.

"Why didn't anyone tell me that someone was going to come in and take some blood?"

The nurse smirked and said, "I guess Doctor Russell just forgot to tell you."

Kaia sighed.

 _I'm gonna kill him._

The nurse left the room and Kaia sighed, leaning back into the bed. It was all going to be over tomorrow. Just one more day.

* * *

 **Okay, so you know when you're gonna have a lot of free time, but then you end up being insanely busy? That's basically been me this entire summer. I thought I was going to have a lot more time to write and upload, but _no_ , I suddenly had so much work to do. I still should have found some time to write, so that's my fault I guess.**

 **Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this chapter, and I'll see you in the next one!**


	8. Bookworms

It was finally the next day, and Kaia was about to leave that completely white room and finally get back to her journey. But, why was that so important to her? She never really thought about it. Normally, she didn't just do things because someone said something. Maybe it was because she didn't have anything else to do. What would Kaia do if she didn't go on a journey? Would she just sit around and not do anything? No, she couldn't do that. Until she found something more important, or a way to go back home to Ransei, she would just have to go on with her journey.

Two nurses walked in. One with a bag of clothes, and the other was there to take out Kaia's IV. Let's just say that was not fun, neither for Kaia, or the nurse doing it.

The other nurse handed Kaia the bag with a change of clothes. Since Kaia's clothes were kind of destroyed with the bisharp and pawniard attack, she was getting provided with more. Kaia was given a black shirt under a violet jacket with 3/4 sleeves and a pokeball insignia on the back, as well as jean shorts and black sneakers. The only thing that was intact was the messenger bag that Kaia had, and when she looked inside, everything was still there. Even the dagger that Arceus had given her. That was strange. It seemed like people would go through her stuff at the hospital. And for some reason, Kaia had a feeling that if someone knew about her dagger, they would take it away. It didn't look like people would appreciate it if she just randomly had a dagger inside her bag. She decided to put the dagger back on her trainer belt.

Kaia shook her head and finished changing. It was finally time to get some more training on and resuming with her journey. She fixed her glasses and clipped her trainer belt with all her pokeballs on her waist. She looked down at Etain and Nereus, and both of the pokemon knew that it was time to leave.

Once Kaia was changed, she was told that she was allowed to leave. The doctor had cleared her earlier that day, and she was officially released from the hospital.

Kaia walked out of the hospital and saw Nacrene City for the first time in detail. Because she was kind of overwhelmed when she first got there, this was the first time she could look at the city in detail. And this was where the second gym was supposed to be located. Kaia just didn't know where. Kaia walked to a bench outside of the hospital and sat down. She pulled out Fred the PokeDex and checked the map function he had.

"Hey Fred, do you know where the gym in this city is?"

 _"I do, but I might not tell you."_

"What?! Why not?!" Kaia asked with a mix of annoyance and anger. The PokeDex had never been rude to her before. It just didn't make sense. Why would a super polite computer...thing get rude all of a sudden?

 _"You are probably wondering why I am not telling you where the gym is, correct?"_

"What? So you can read minds now?"

 _"It is common for humans to have a reaction like that."_

"Like what, exactly?"

 _"Like the one you had. When a person, or AI in my case, changes how they act all of a sudden, humans cannot seem to figure out why and always get confused by it. To answer that question that you had, this is all part of a trainer's journey. Usually they do not have a PokeDex they can ask questions to. They find where places are all on their own. That's what being a trainer is usually about, or that is what a lot of people say. So, I am not going to tell you where the gym is. You can find it on your own."_

Fred then proceeded to shut off and not answer anymore of Kaia's questions. The trainer put her PokeDex back into her bag angrily. Good for nothing piece of technical junk. Kaia couldn't figure out why people created those stupid things.

Kaia looked around and sighed. Looked like it was time to try and find the gym all on her own. Well, not completely on her own. She did have Etain and Nereus after all. Kaia hesitated before getting up. Should she do some training since they were out of practice for a while? Or should she go on in and challenge the gym?

She ended up deciding that it would be better to do some training before she tried to challenge the gym. She did need to get back into the groove of things. Being in the hospital was definitely _not_ fun.

Kaia walked out to the route with Etain and Nereus. She always liked having her pokemon out with her. She just couldn't understand why people kept them in their pokeballs all the time. Pokemon shouldn't be cooped up in there all the time. They needed time to stretch their legs and get some exercise.

Kaia shook her head and looked out toward the route. It was the perfect time of day to do some training. The trainer looked at her growlithe.

"Etain! Use Fire Fang!"

* * *

"What?!"

Professor Juniper fell out of her chair. She had taken the time to look into what that new trainer Kaia was talking about. She said she came from a place called Ransei, and the Pokemon Professor couldn't help but look into it. She knew that she had heard the name before, but it had slipped her mind at that moment. So, she decided to look into all the books she had in the lab to try and figure it out. She had just found a book with all this information on Ransei.

According to her book, Ransei was a place that existed an extremely long time ago, around five thousand years. It was a place where there were different kingdoms, and different Warlords in charge of each kingdom. These Warlords had some soldiers called Warriors that they could send into battle against other Warlords and their kingdoms. These Warriors always fought with just one pokemon, and were always searching for something they called a "Perfect Link." What could that mean?

Professor Juniper stood up. Was that what Kaia meant when she asked the professor if trainers here could link with pokemon? Is that why she had that growlithe already with her? And why she already had a nickname for it?

The professor crossed her arms. She hadn't heard anyone talking about Ransei for a long time, or at all. And trainers-to-be nowadays didn't pay attention to things like that. Could that mean that Kaia was really from Ransei? It just didn't seem possible. Of course, incredible things could happen in this world, but time travel just didn't seem possible for a human. Even with the help of Celebi or Dialga. Although, no one had reported seeing the legendaries in those times. In Ransei, they all focused on Arceus. Wait, Kaia did freak out when she heard Professor Juniper say Arceus. The professor yelped and fell back again. In all of her thinking and pacing, she tripped over her chair.

"Is everything alright in there?"

Professor Juniper's father stepped into the room. He had heard the crash and came to see if anything bad had happened.

"No, dad," said Professor Juniper, "It's fine. You can go back to whatever you were doing."

"Alright then."

The older Professor Juniper walked back into the other room, and the younger Professor Juniper looked at her book. If Kaia really was from Ransei, it would explain how she acted around the television when she first saw it that day, and why she didn't know what a trainer was. There was something weird about that girl, and as always, there was only one explanation - legendary pokemon. Even if it didn't seem possible. She would have to call Alder about this. This entire situation was something that needed to be looked in to. The gym leaders might have to be alerted as well, since there would be no way to tell where she was right now. At least, Professor Juniper couldn't do anything from the lab where she was. She didn't want to take a chance and leave the lab, because who know how long she would be gone if that happened.

* * *

Kaia was finally done doing some training with her pokemon. She felt comfortable giving commands to Etain and Nereus, and she was ready for the gym. Kaia smiled. She knew she was going to win this gym battle. It might even be as easy as the battle against Cilan.

Kaia walked back into Nacrene City and she went on with trying to find the gym. She groaned. Why couldn't Fred just tell her where the gym was and be over it.

When the trainer went to sit down on a bench, she noticed a sign. It looked like a little map of the city. It even pointed out where the gym was! It kind of looked like the gym was inside of a museum.

Kaia smiled. Finally she found where the gym was! Her pokemon looked really excited as well. They were finally going to get to battle again!

The trainer walked to the museum where the gym was supposed to be and walked inside. Kaia looked around. She couldn't believe that there was supposed to a Pokemon Gym there. It just didn't make sense. How did they expect to house a facility where people fight with creatures that can demolish buildings inside a museum with priceless artifacts? Kaia sighed and decided to find where the gym part of the museum was.

One of the employees walked over to her.

"Excuse me miss," she said, "We can't allow you to have your pokemon out in the museum area. Please return them to their pokeballs."

Kaia looked at her in shock. She then smiled.

"U-um, okay," she said. She then looked down at Etain and Nereus.

 _Sorry,_ she told Etain, _I don't think I can do anything about it._

Etain nodded in understanding, and Kaia pointed the pokeballs at her two pokemon. The red light surrounded them and sucked them into the pokeballs. Kaia looked at the employee.

"Thank you, and enjoy your time at the museum."

Kaia nodded, and the girl walked away. Once the girl was gone, Kaia groaned. She forgot to ask where the gym was. She decided to just walk around until she found it. But where could the gym be? Kaia looked around, and her gaze landed on the back of the museum. There was a door and it looked like it led to a different area. Maybe that was where the gym was?

Kaia walked to where she saw the door, and she walked through. Inside was a library. Kaia's eyes sparkled. A library?! It's been such a long time since she was able to go inside one. Of course, there was a library in Aurora's castle, but it was small, and with all the training she had to do, she almost never had time to go inside anymore.

Kaia laughed. She could just imagine Etain rolling his eyes at her. And, she understood why she had to put her pokemon back in their pokeballs. One stray flame, even by accident, could cause a big disaster here.

The trainer walked over to one of the book shelves and picked up a book. She started reading. The book was about different strategies to use in battle depending on the opponent. One of the lines was that a good defense is sometimes the best offense. Kaia chuckled.

 _But everyone knows that. Doesn't this book have anything useful?_

"So you like to read," said a woman. Kaia looked up, and she saw a woman standing over her. Without realizing it, Kaia had sat down on the ground to read the book. Kaia closed the book and got up.

"I'm Lenora, the leader of this gym," she said, "That's an interesting book you picked."

"Oh, I just grabbed the first one that caught my eye. I'm Kaia, by the way."

Lenora smiled.

"Well Kaia," said the gym leader, "If you like that kind of book, let me suggest this one."

She then pointed to a book that kind of blended in, but at the same time, stood out a little bit. Kaia smiled.

"I'll add that one to my list," she said while holding a pile of books. Lenora looked at the trainer in shock.

"Where did you get all those books so fast?" asked Lenora. Kaia looked at her pile.

"I'm not really sure. While you were talking, I just started picking some up. I'll definitely read that one when I'm done with all of these. Thanks Lenora!"

Lenora looked at the trainer. It looked like Kaia had completely forgotten that this was a gym. Wasn't she here for a battle? The gym leader watched as the challenger Kaia took her stack of books and sat down on the ground to start reading them. She even noticed that Kaia sat in the same isle where that book Lenora pointed out was. Probably so the trainer wouldn't forget where the book was. Lenora sighed. She was ready for the moment when she would be able to study the way Kaia fights with her pokemon. If she ever got around to it, that is.

* * *

 **And there we go! Chapter 8 is completed! The gym battle will be in the next chapter, or rather, it will if Kaia gets herself together and remembers that she's there for a gym battle. Bet you weren't expecting that she would love books so much huh? And those magical powers of suddenly picking up a whole pile of books seemingly out of nowhere?**

 **I finally decided on a specific day to update *throws confetti* Okay, so I'm gonna be updating on Fridays. Probably every other Friday, instead of every single Friday. I don't think I could handle that ^-^"**

 **Anyway, it's August, and my summer is drawing to a close T-T I'm gonna be starting my last year of high school, which is pretty exciting, but pretty stressful, I guess. I have to worry about applying to different colleges. Well, enough of my life!**

 **I hope you guys enjoyed that chapter, and I'll see you in the next one!**


	9. Acquiring the Basic Badge

Two days had passed since Kaia first showed up to the Nacrene Gym. She still hadn't challenged the gym yet, and Lenora was getting a little worried. How could someone just forget about the gym like that. She saw Kaia sitting on the ground reading through another book.

"Is everything alright?" asked the gym leader. Kaia nodded.

"Yes, everything is perfectly fine. Why do you ask?"

"Well, you haven't challenged the gym yet."

Kaia looked up from her book. That's right, she had completely forgotten! Kaia nervously smiled and a bead of sweat rolled down her cheek.

"Sorry, it has been a really long time since I was in a library like this," said Kaia, "I'll challenge you soon, I just want to read a few more of these books."

 _Unfortunately, I wasn't able to bring any books with me from home,_ thought Kaia sadly, _Maybe I wouldn't have gone as crazy here._

Lenora nodded and smiled. She then walked away, and left Kaia to the books. This was another interesting trainer. It was going to be fun seeing how she battled. The gym leader couldn't wait.

Kaia looked up from her book after getting halfway through. Once she finished that book, she would read the one that Lenora recommended to her. Kaia sighed. She needed to challenge the gym. She didn't really have anymore nights to stay at the Pokemon Center. She had already stayed there for three nights without realizing it.

The trainer closed her book and stood up. There was something about that book. It had to be the key to being able to battle Lenora. Kaia pulled the book out of the shelf and skimmed through it. She flipped through to the back cover, and found a note.

 _"Congratulations challenger! It looks like you took my advice and looked at the book I pointed out to you. Once you finish reading this, put it back in the shelf and follow the stairs down. I look forward to our battle. Good luck challenger!"_

Kaia softly laughed as she looked down at the book. It looked like Lenora pointed out a book, then waited to see what the challenger would do. If they would look at the book right away, or try to find a different one that was the key. Or, in Kaia's case, just forget about the challenge entirely and read through any other book that was there.

The book was put back, then the book shelf it was sitting on moved, revealing a staircase. Who would have expected that? It seemed like the gym leaders could do whatever they wanted with their gyms.

Kaia stared at the staircase in awe. She never would have thought of that. People really did come up with very interesting things.

The trainer walked down the staircase, and she noticed that it closed above her. Probably for any other challengers that were in the library. Kaia walked down the steps and saw that Lenora was waiting for her in the basement. As Kaia walked down the steps to where her gym battle was going to be, she released Etain and Nereus from their pokeballs. It was finally time for them to be out and walk with her again. Etain looked like he was a little mad at Kaia. He had never been confined for such a long time. Every single day for the past three days, he had to spend his time in a pokeball. Kaia sighed.

 _I know you're mad at me, but you get the chance to battle now,_ said Kaia to her linked partner, _And after this gym battle, we are going to set off again, so you won't be in there again for a while._

Etain turned his head away. Even if Kaia sort of apologized, he was still mad.

Nereus didn't really care. He always had to be in a pokeball before, so a little more wasn't really a big deal.

Lenora smiled warmly at Kaia.

"Welcome Kaia," said the gym leader, "I've been waiting for you. Did you like reading the books?"

The challenger nodded and smiled.

"It's the best part, in my opinion," she said. The library was the first part of the new world that actually felt right to Kaia. Of course, she loved being with Etain and Nereus, and challenging the gyms wasn't that bad.

The gym leader led Kaia through another door and to a battlefield. A referee was standing there, waiting for both of them.

"This will be a two on two battle, and only the challenger can substitute pokemon. Sound good?"

Both of them nodded. Lenora let two pokemon out. It was a watchog and herdier. Nereus stepped back behind Kaia when he saw the Watchog. He hadn't forgotten of when he battled that watchog on Kaia's first day as a trainer. He had gotten hurt and made Kaia worry about him. Kaia looked down at her oshawott, and immediately became furious with herself. It was her fault that Nereus got hurt that day. She was careless as a trainer, and her pokemon paid for it.

Her pokemon noticed the change in their trainer. Watchogs brought bad memories to all three of them. Kaia took a deep breath in to gather all of her feelings, and she got ready for the battle. She couldn't let the past get in the way of the present. It was good to learn from her mistakes, but not to let them overwhelm her. That was a mistake that could be fatal, especially in the middle of a battle. Linked pokemon could feel the negative change and get distracted. In older times, when the kingdoms were at war with each other, that could be fatal for both warrior and pokemon. Now, it could just cost her a gym battle. Well, it could cost a trainer their life out in the wild, so it probably wasn't that far off from how it used to be. There just weren't any wars or battles between huge groups of people.

Kaia looked up and Lenora smirked.

"I see you're ready," she said, "Now I'm going to research how you fight with the pokemon you've so lovingly raised!"

Lenora sent out her Hedier, and Kaia looked down at Nereus. If the oshawott went first, then Etain's energy could be saved for the watchog, which was most likely Lenora's strongest pokemon.

"You can do this Nereus," said Kaia to her oshawott.

"Osha!"

"I'll let you have the first move," said Lenora. Kaia nodded.

"Nereus, use Water Gun!" said Kaia. Nereus nodded, and then shot water from his mouth at the herdier.

"Dodge, and use Bite!"

The herdier jumped out of the way of the water attack, and headed for Nereus.

"Wait for her to get close!" said Kaia, "Then use Water Gun again!"

Water started filling up the oshawott's mouth, and he waited until the herdier got closer. Nereus was about to use the water type move when her heard a command from his trainer.

"Wait! Not yet!" yelled Kaia, "Just a little more!"

The herdier was coming in from above. When she was inches away from Nereus, Kaia shouted, "Now! Use Water Gun!"

Nereus let the water loose, and he sprayed the water in the herdier's face. The herdier flew back and Nereus breathed a sigh of relief.

"So you play it a little risky, huh?" said Lenora, "Interesting."

"Actually," said Kaia, "I was just making sure your herdier couldn't get away from the attack."

Lenora smirked.

"Use Leer!"

The herdier glared at Nereus, causing his defenses to go down. Nereus looked like he was a little scared of the herdier.

"Tackle!" yelled Kaia. Her oshawott nodded and tackled the herdier. This time, Lenora didn't even tell her pokemon to dodge.

"Now who's being risky?" said Kaia.

"Not me," said Lenora, "Because you're just where I want you. Take Down!"

Lenora's herdier tackled Nereus, and it went for a lot of damage because of that Leer earlier. Nereus flew back, and hit the ground hard. The oshawott struggled to get back up. Kaia clenched her jaw, and looked down at her pokemon. Etain looked like he wanted to jump in and take the place of his friend. Kaia glanced down at her fire type, and he immediately sat down and stayed still. He still worried about his teammate.

"So we have to stay further back," muttered Kaia, "That way Nereus won't take an attack so close like that."

She looked to Nereus and said, "Stay away from the herdier! Get further back and use Water Gun!"

The oshawott nodded and jumped back. He then used the move.

"Jump to get out of the way!" shouted Lenora, "Then use Bite!"

Lenora's herdier jumped out of the way, avoiding another one of Nereus's attacks. The other pokemon then bit down on Nereus, and the oshawott fell down again. He slowly got up. He had to do this. Nereus felt like he had something to prove to his trainer, and his pokemon teammate. He couldn't just be defeated by the herdier in front of him. Nereus closed his eyes and he started glowing. He had to beat this herdier not matter what.

Kaia looked at her pokemon in surprise.

"He's evolving!" she exclaimed. Etain looked at the otter in surprise as well. This was something that neither of them was expecting.

Nereus grew taller and instead of one scalchop, he now had two. Nereus had gone from an oshawott to a dewott. He took the two scalchops he had and pulled them off. Light blue blades emerged from the scalchops and Nereus attacked the herdier with them. Kaia's eyes widened. Nereus just used Razor Shell. He learned a new move and leveled up as well!

The attack hit the herdier, and it flew back. Kaia smirked. This battle was going to end in her favor. Kaia and Nereus looked at each other and nodded.

"Nereus, use Razor Shell!"

The dewott nodded and ran towards the herdier. He slashed with his two scalchops, and knocked the herdier back.

"Get back up and use Take Down!" shouted Lenora, "You can do it!"

The herdier nodded and she ran toward Nereus.

"Jump then use Water Gun to end it!" said Kaia. Nereus nodded, and when the herdier was close, he jumped and shot the water. Lenora's herdier fell back and fainted.

"The battle goes to the challenger, Kaia!" said the referee. He then turned to Kaia and said, "Would you like to substitute pokemon?"

Kaia nodded and called Nereus back. She then looked at Etain, and the growlithe knew that it was time for him to battle. There was no way that he was going to lose this battle. Lenora smirked and sent her watchog out.

Kaia and Etain looked at each other. They knew what to do. Kaia was going to use their link again, so Lenora wouldn't know what Kaia and Etain were going to do. Kaia would start off by giving Etain a few commands in the normal way, then she would switch to using the link.

"Ok Etain," said Kaia, "Use Fire Fang!"

Etain nodded, and ran at the watchog as fire erupted from his jaws. He bit down on the watchog.

"Use Retaliate!" said Lenora. The watchog ran past Etain, and it looked like the attack had missed. Etain suddenly fell forward and quickly regained his balance.

 _Etain! Are you okay?_

"Growl growl lithe."

Kaia breathed a sigh of relief.

"Retaliate is a special type of move," explained Lenora, "With every allied pokemon that fainted, the move gets stronger."

Kaia frowned. That meant she had to end this battle quickly. If the move was that strong, Lenora would most likely keep using it.

 _Etain, be ready for anything. I have a feeling that they are going to keep using that move Retaliate._

The growlithe nodded and looked forward to the watchog.

 _Use Flame Wheel! Don't let it escape!_

Etain ran toward the watchog, then jumped and started rolling. His fur got so hot that fire surrounded him, and all that could be seen was the ball of fire that was Etain.

Etain hit Lenora's watchog, causing a good amount of damage to it.

Lenora looked at her challenger with curiosity. She had never seen a trainer this early on have that great of a bond with her pokemon. She knew about the Kalos champion Diantha, that told her gardivoir what to do just by looking each other in the eye, but that probably took a long time to do. For a trainer this early on to do something like that was just incredible. This trainer had some serious potential to get high up in the circuit.

 _Since you're not doing_ _anything, I think I'll just attack again. Etain, use Ember followed by Fire Fang._

Her pokemon nodded and followed through with the attack.

"Dodge!"

The watchog jumped out of the way of the Ember, but was hit by Etain's Fire Fang.

Lenora's watchog looked like it was fine after the attack, but tried to take a step forward, then fell down. It had fainted.

"Etain is the winner, which means the match goes to the challenger, Kaia!"

Eaten ran back to Kaia, and the trainer congratulated both of her pokemon. They had both done so well! Especially Nereus. He had evolved! If that hadn't happened. Etain would have had to face both of Lenora's pokemon on his own.

The dewott stood proudly. He knew that his trainer was proud of him, and he proved that he can actually fight and win in a battle. Nereus was nudged by Etain. The growlithe was proud of his teammate.

Lenora returned her watchog, and walked over to Kaia.

"I knew you were talented as a trainer, but I didn't know you were _that_ talented. Your skills in battle are exceptional. Congratulations on beating me."

Lenora handed Kaia a badge.

"Your battle style is great; you and your team have earned this Basic Badge. It's proof that you've beaten my gym."

Kaia smiled. Lenora then walked over and picked up a disc and a book.

"This is the TM for the move Retaliate. As you saw in our battle, the move is strongest right after an ally has been defeated. Now for the book. Since you love reading so much, I thought I would let you have this one. It's called _The Art of Battle Strategy_. I think you would like this one. Something about you tells me that you would like this type of book."

Kaia's eyes sparkled, and it made Etain and Nereus roll their eyes.

"You're really letting me have this book?" she asked. Lenora chuckled and nodded.

"Why not? You love to read, and I was impressed with your battling skills. It's a gift from me."

Kaia smiled and said, "Thank you!"

Kaia turned and left the gym. It looked like the next place she had to go through was Pinwheel Forest. Nothing bad could happen there, right?

* * *

 **Man, I am on fire! I haven't been able to stop writing. Of course, all of these updates are coming at the same time, since I want to spread them out. I'm finally getting these chapters to be a little longer like they were in the beginning. Like, between two thousand and three thousand words long. Pretty sure that's a good thing right?**

 **And I am so sorry that this is late! I just got carried away with a bunch of stuff and didn't have time to update, which is seriously frustrating.**

 **As always, hope you enjoyed and I'll see you in the next one!**


	10. Electrifying New Travel Partner

Kaia left the gym with a smile on her face, and she held the book close to her chest. Since she was leaving, she didn't have to put Etain and Nereus back in their pokéballs. Her pokémon were happy that they didn't need to be in their pokéballs anymore.

Nereus walked next to Kaia, since now he was too heavy to jump up on her. The dewott actually looked a little sad about it, and it made Etain snicker. It was all in playful fun after all. Kaia actually thought that it was kind of cute.

"Alright, guys," said Kaia, "Let's stop at the Pokémon Center so you guys can get healed up. Then we'll head to the forest so we can get to the next city. I think it's called Castelia City."

Her two pokemon agreed, and they all headed to the Pokémon Center. Kaia walked inside, and Nurse Joy smiled.

"Welcome to the Pokémon Center, how may I help you?"

"Could you take care of theses two for me?"

Kaia returned Etain and Nereus to their pokeballs and handed them to Nurse Joy. The nurse smiled happily and bowed.

"Of course, just wait and they'll be out soon."

Kaia nodded and sat down in one of the chairs in the waiting area of the Pokémon Center. She looked at the book that Lenora gave her.

" _The Art of Battle Strategy_ ," muttered Kaia. She flipped through the book, and saw a bunch of different ways to handle each type in a battle. It listed the strengths and weaknesses of each pokémon type, and tips on what moves to use. Kaia smiled. It was an interesting book.

Nurse Joy's voice came over the intercom at the Pokémon Center.

"Kaia, your pokémon are ready."

The trainer closed her book and got up. She walked over to the counter where Nurse Joy was waiting. Kaia was handed her two pokéballs and Nurse Joy smiled.

"Thank you and come again!"

Kaia smiled and said, "Thanks. Oh, um, here."

She gave the key to the room to Nurse Joy. If Kaia decided to stay one more night, she would have had to pay, but she didn't know how much it would be. She didn't really have a lot of money either. Of course, beating the gym leaders got her a lot of money, but she had to spend it on food and supplies. Kaia sighed. When she got to the next town, she might have to try finding a job. Or she could hide out somewhere and wait for trainers to walk by so she could challenge them.

Either way, she needed some money. She was a little low on money since she had spent two days in the library part of the museum just reading. In those two days, she _did_ have to eat, and so did her pokemon. Eating out was more expensive than stocking up on food for a trip to the next town. And the Pokémon Center only had free breakfast and only had lunch and dinner sometimes for trainers. Trainers were either in their hometown and could get their own food at home, or they were in the middle of their journey and had to eat out.

It was time to get moving and get some supplies. Kaia put the book back in her bag, and walked out of the Pokémon Center. She then let her growlithe and dewott out of their pokéballs. They both looked happy. They were finally going to get to stretch their legs again.

"Alright team," said Kaia, "After getting some supplies, we're gonna go to Pinwheel Forest."

Her pokémon nodded, and they left to go get ready. Kaia got all the supplies she needed, like water and some extra food and snacks, and they headed out of Nacrene, and to Pinwheel Forest.

They entered the dense forest area, and Kaia looked up. She couldn't even see the sky there were so many trees! Etain and Nereus looked around, on edge. The last time they were on a route, it didn't go so well. So, the trainer and her pokémon were ready for anything. They weren't going to be caught off guard again. There was no way that Kaia was going to let herself become vulnerable to a pokémon attack like before she got to Nacrene. Funny how one thing that happens can change how you live out your life.

Walking through the forest took forever. About an hour had passed, and Kaia still hadn't made it through the forest. She decided to take a break with her pokémon. Though, the break wasn't really relaxing. Every time they were on a break, there was some type of pokémon attack. First Nereus got injured, then Kaia and Etain. Even though the attacks were in different settings, it didn't change the fact that Kaia and her team had been hurt.

Hopefully this time would be different. Kaia didn't know what she would do if she got attacked again. It would officially say that she was cursed to be attacked by pokémon wherever she went. When she was attacked the last time, it was by a group of pokémon that weren't even supposed to be in that area.

A few stray embers were blown near Kaia's face. Kaia looked at Etain, the pokémon that was the cause of the embers.

"What?"

"Lithe growl lithe lithe growl."

Kaia sighed. Just because she was thinking, didn't mean that Etain could blow embers in her face. That wasn't a good enough reason for it.

So it was time to move on. Kaia didn't even know how far in the forest she was. Was it halfway, more, or less? Had she not even made a lot of progress in getting through the forest? Why did the forest have to be so big and hard to get through?

It was just part of being a trainer. Pokémon Trainers went through this all the time, and not just in one region either! Trainers were crazy enough to go to more than one region to take on the Pokémon League there.

Kaia got up and started walking again with her pokémon. She walked a while more, and then another trainer spotted her. It was a boy with blonde hair and green eyes.

"Hey! Stop there! I challenge you to a battle!"

Kaia looked at the blond with a confused expression. She had forgotten that other trainers waited for people to walk by so they could challenge them, even though she was planning to so something like that.

The brunette sighed. She had to battle this trainer, no matter what.

"Alright fine," said Kaia, "What's your name?"

"I'm Quinn," he said.

"Kaia."

Quinn smirked.

"Go Seira!"

Quinn sent out a blitzle. The little zebra looking electric pokémon stood proudly, and looked like she knew that she wasn't going to lose this fight. Kaia glanced down at Etain, and the growlithe stepped forward. Kaia wanted to have Nereus fight to get more experience, but he was weak to electric types. She didn't want Nereus to go against a pokémon that had a huge advantage over him.

"We haven't lost a battle yet," said Quinn, "So this'll be easy money for me."

Kaia chuckled.

"Oh yeah? Well me and Etain haven't lost a battle either. I don't think you'll win that easily."

 _Especially with the strategy that I have._

Each trainer thought that they could win, since they had never lost before. Today was the day that one of them had to lose. There always had to be a winner and a loser. It was just the way things work.

"You can have the first move," said Kaia. Quinn smirked.

"Either way I'm gonna win," he said, "Seira, use Shock Wave!"

"Etain, dodge it and use Fire Fang!"

The growlithe jumped out of the way of the electric attack and bit down on the blitzle's hindquarter.

"Seira!"

Seira fell down, and then got up. The blitzle glared at Etain, and Etain smirked. The fire type's inner flame was flaring up, and he was enjoying the battle. Though, he was confused as to why his linked partner wasn't using the link they had. Etain looked at Kaia, and Kaia smiled, reassuring her pokémon. She was going to use it soon. She just wanted Quinn to think she was like any other trainer. Her link was something she wanted to use when she was in the heat of the battle, or when she was in a really important battle.

"Try using Thunder Wave," said Quinn, "Don't let him get away!"

Seira nodded and shot a weak bolt of electricity toward Etain. Etain didn't get out of the way in time, and got paralyzed. Kaia looked at her partner in worry.

 _You can do this Etain. Focus and use Flame Wheel._

Etain's paralysis did not take effect, and he was able to attack Seira with the attack. He rolled and turned into a wheel of flames, then hit Quinn's blitzle. Seira flew back, and barely landed on her hooves.

"Good job Seira," said Quinn, "Now use Quick Attack!"

 _Etain, get out of the way, then use Ember._

Etain's paralysis took effect, and stopped him from dodging Seira's attack. Etain was pushed back a bit, and he almost fell over.

"Etain," said Kaia, "You can do this."

 _Just get up and do your best to avoid the attacks. I know you're paralyzed, but do your best to break through it. Use Flame Wheel and then follow up with Ember._

Etain nodded. His paralysis stopped him from using Flame Wheel, but he was able to use Ember. It hit Seira, and the blitzle was able to stop herself from moving back too much.

"You've got this Seira!" said Quinn, "Use Quick Attack followed up by Shock Wave!"

Seira ran up to Etain and hit him. She then used the electric attack that did a lot of damage. Etain almost fainted. It looked like Seira was pretty close to fainting as well. It just took one more attack for either of them to be knocked out.

 _End this Etain, use Fire Fang full strength!_

"Seira, use Shock Wave to end this!"

The two pokémon attacked each other, and the attacks hit at the exact same moment. Both of the pokémon were knocked out and fell to the ground.

"Etain!"

"Seira!"

Both trainers ran to their pokémon and returned them to their pokéballs. They had to go to the Pokémon Center to heal them. The two trainers ran to the Pokémon Center in Nacrene to heal their pokémon. Kaia frowned as they were running. Of course she was worried about Etain, but it was sad to say goodby to all the progress she had made through the forest. Kaia looked down and was glad to see that Nereus was keeping up with her. Evolving meant that he was faster and stronger than when he was as an oshawott.

They got to the Pokémon Center and ran in.

"Nurse Joy!" said Quinn, "Can you take care of our pokémon for us?"

"What happened?" asked the nurse with worry.

"We had a battle," said Quinn, causing Nurse Joy to sigh.

"You trainers need to be more careful when you're battling! You can't just treat your pokémon like that!"

Quinn and Kaia looked down. They were both older, but when Nurse Joy scolds someone, it makes them feel like a child. Kaia looked away. She was always used to fighting with all of their strength. It's how people survive wars. It's how they win battles. If a person doesn't give it their all, then how are they going to know how to improve or what they're doing wrong?

Kaia sighed. She didn't need to be told that she did something wrong, because nothing bad happened. She and Etain were used to this. Kaia would always train like crazy when she was little. Her father would find her and Etain passed out on the training grounds near the castle all the time.

Nurse Joy sighed. She took Etain's pokéball from Kaia, and Seira's from Quinn. Both of them sighed. They might have taken the battle just a bit too far. Their battle had ended in a draw, so neither of them technically lost. Quinn decided that the outcome of their outcome was pretty acceptable. He just didn't want to get beat.

Quinn looked at Kaia. The trainer did look worried about her growlithe. Although, it did look like she was just letting Etain do whatever. It could be like the Champion in Kalos, Diantha. She could communicate with her gardivoir just by looking into each other's eyes.

But Kaia was different. She and Etain didn't even have to look at each other. It was like Kaia was on another level as a trainer. And she only had two badges, just like Quinn! To know that a trainer could advance that much in such a short time was amazing! Quinn never thought it was possible. Maybe trying to travel with Kaia would actually help him advance as well.

Quinn looked at the girl next to him. If she actually advanced that quickly, she must be some the of training prodigy. He needed to ask her if he could join her on her journey. Going to sit down would probably be the first step. Get somewhat relaxed, and then try to get her to let him join her on her journey.

The two trainers walked to the waiting area, and sat down in chairs across form each other. Kaia was about to take out her book and start reading, but Quinn was able to stop her so he could talk to her.

"So Kaia," said Quinn, "Where are you from?"

Kaia looked at Quinn and almost said Ransei. She stopped herself because she didn't know how he would react to it. Professor Juniper acted like she knew nothing about the place and had set it so Kaia's trainer card said Unova as where she was from. Quinn would probably look at her like she was crazy if she said where she was really from.

"Unova."

Quinn looked at the girl in confusion. It had taken her a while to answer the question. It would be understandable if she was a trainer that had already traveled around for a bit; he had heard that the regions can get mixed up sometimes the more you travel. But that didn't make sense in Kaia's case. She had barely just started her journey. He decided to let it go. It probably wasn't that big of a deal anyway.

"Cool," he said, "I'm originally from Sinnoh, but we moved before I could get my starter pokémon there. Hey, besides Etain, is your dewitt your only other pokémon?"

Kaia nodded, and Nereus looked up and smiled at the mention of his name.

"Dew wott wott!"

"This is Nereus," said Kaia, "He just evolved too."

Quinn smiled. Dewott was a pretty cool pokémon. He didn't choose oshawott because he didn't really want a water type. He decided to get a snivy. Quinn thought that thing looked incredibly cool. He could have picked tepig, but her preferred the grass type over the fire type. Plus, getting the grass type starter was more challenging since they had a lot more weaknesses. And he liked a challenge. He thought that was the way to be a great trainer; to take the challenges that some people were more reluctant to. Quinn took a pokéball off his belt and let his snivy, well, now a servine.

Kaia looked at Quinn's servine.

"This is the evolved form of a snivy right? It's pretty cool," she said.

"Yeah," said Quinn, "His name is Leif."

Leif slightly smiled and looked at his trainer. He then glared at Nereus, and Nereus glared back at Leif. Water types and grass types didn't not always get along. This was one of those times. Quinn and Kaia looked at each other and sighed. Pokémon never ceased to amaze them.

"Oh yeah," said Quinn, "I had something I wanted to ask you."

"Well then spit it out," said Kaia. She wasn't really in the mood to talk to this trainer. All they had done together was have a battle. Although, it kind of irked Kaia that Etain wasn't able to beat this trainer's blitzle. It had to end in a tie! This trainer probably only had his pokémon for a few weeks, while Kaia and Etain had been together basically all their lives! Kaia frowned, but then changed her expression to a more relaxed one. She waited for Quinn to speak.

"I was wondering if I could join you on your journey," said Quinn, causing Kaia to have a coughing fit. She definitely wasn't expecting this trainer to ask her that. All she wanted to do was go on their separate ways. If he was around, Kaia didn't know how often she would be able to use her link with Etain. What if it got weaker because of it.

"Why do you want to do that?" asked Kaia once she recovered. She coughed again.

"Well," said Quinn, "You're a pretty strong trainer, and I've only heard of Kalos's Champion battle like you do, but it's like you take it to another level. I thought that if I travel with you, I could learn how to get better as a trainer from you. Plus, it'll give me a chance to battle you again and settle it."

Kaia was silent, and Quinn started worrying if he had said something wrong. Maybe he should say something else?

Kaia had to think about it. First of all, why would someone want to learn and take her example? She was always the lazy one when it came to battling. Did something change when she got to this world? She never saw herself as a good role model, but maybe she could teach this kid a thing or two about defending himself in the wild. She was worried about exposing herself, but she would probably have to end up using her link either way. And she had already revealed it to this trainer in their battle, even though there was no way he would figure out what it was.

 _"Kaia, Quinn, your pokémon are ready."_

Nurse Joy's voice came over the intercom in the Pokémon Center. The two trainers got up, and got their pokémon. They started walking out, and Quinn was still waiting for Kaia's answer. Kaia walked out of the Pokémon Center, and Quinn faltered. Kaia was leaving without him. That meant this was her way of denying his request.

The blond started to look down, when Kaia looked over her shoulder.

"What are you doing standing around?" asked Kaia, "Aren't you coming?"

Quinn smiled and followed after his new travel partner. Kaia smirked looking at him.

"You're such a child. I thought you were the same age as me."

"Shut up!"

* * *

 **So there's the chapter! What do you think about Quinn? Like him, hate him, don't really care? Well, either way, he's joining the story for now!**

 **Can you guys believe it's already September?! August went by wayyyyy too fast! I'm already just about a month into school, and it went by so fast!**

 **Don't really have anything else to say, so I hope you guys enjoyed the chapter and follow, favorite, or leave a review if you want!**


	11. Forest of Poison

"How long is this forest supposed to be?" asked Quinn. After getting their pokémon from the Pokémon Center, the two trainers started their journey together and headed into Pinwheel Forest. They had even picked up some potions and super potions just in case they decided to have a battle and were too far away from the Pokémon Center.

Kaia sighed. Maybe it was best to take a break here. They had been walking without a break, so it was about time.

"Let's take a break," said Kaia. Quinn looked at her and nodded. They found a small clearing and sat down with their pokémon. Etain and Leif got along pretty well, but Nereus and Leif would still always glare at each other. Quinn let Seira out of her pokéball and the blitzle actually got along really well with the dewott, despite the blitzle's type advantage to the dewott. While Etain and Leif sat in the sun, Nereus and Seira ran around a little, chasing each other.

Kaia looked around and spotted a tree of berries. They looked like pecha berries, and once Kaia saw them, she smirked. Of course, they weren't as good as the spicy berries she liked, but these were just as good.

The female trainer got up and picked some berries from the trees. She picked some for all the pokémon, as well as for Quinn and herself. She walked over to where Quinn was and sat down.

 _Etain, get everyone over here. I have some pecha berries._

The growlithe ran over to his trainer, and all the other pokémon followed him. Kaia gave each of them berries, and then offered one to Quinn.

"You want one?" asked Kaia. Quinn nodded his head.

"Sure," he said, "Snacks are pretty good when you're having a break."

Quinn took the berry from Kaia and took a bite. He had never really tried eating one of the berries all on its own. He always had it as part of something else.

They finished their small break, and kept going through the forest. Their pokémon walked with them - neither Kaia nor Quinn were the type of trainer that always kept their pokémon in pokéballs. The journey was just a lot more fun when pokémon could walk with them. Trainers could get to know their pokémon better that way. If pokémon were just left in their pokéballs all the time, how would they be able to connect with their trainers? How would they be able to work as a better team in battle?

"When do you want to battle again?" asked Quinn, "Or do some training? We haven't really done that yet."

"Later," said Kaia. She didn't really feel like doing any training right now. All she wanted to do was have a nice stroll through the forest.

Quinn sighed. He had wanted to join Kaia on her journey to see her fighting style and better himself off of it, but he didn't know how that was going to happen if he never got to see her battle, or have a battle with her. But, if Kaia said that she was going to train later, then he had no choice other than to believe her and train later as well.

Kaia looked around the forest, and saw that there weren't really a lot of trainers in the area they were in. Of course, there weren't many trainers in Pinwheel Forest to begin with, but the area where they were had a faded out path. For the entire forest, there was an established path, but they must have wondered off of it somehow.

As the two trainers walked around the forest, they were being watched by a group of wild pokémon. It was surprising; trainers always stayed on the path, but these two had strayed off of it somehow. The two people were even getting closer to where these wild pokémon lived, and were about to invade their space. They could be the next meal for the pokémon. All they had to do was wait for the two trainers to get closer, and then they could ambush them.

Kaia and Quinn started walking further, and Quinn started to feel like something was watching them.

"Hey Kaia, do you feel like someone, or something's, watching us?"

Kaia stopped walking and looked around. They were at the point were she couldn't see the path anymore, and she suddenly got the same feeling that Quinn did. It was an unnerving feeling. Etain picked up on it too, and Kaia cursed at herself for not noticing anything earlier. It was like all of her senses had been dulled. How could she be so careless?

It looked like Quinn was about to take another step forward.

"Quinn wait!"

Quinn turned around and looked at Kaia. She was staring in one direction and had stopped making any movements. Quinn followed her gaze, and saw a group of venipede, whirlipede, and scolipede watching them. They weren't doing anything else, just watching. Kaia slowly moved so she was right behind Quinn.

"Be careful," she said, "Move slowly and try not to make any sudden movements. That's probably going to make them attack."

Kaia wasn't as worried about the venipede and its evolutions, because she had been in a situation like this before. It was when she was visiting Chrysalia to train. She and a few other warriors had been ambused by this type of pokémon. Venipede are surprisingly aggressive, and their poison is very powerful. It is definitely _not_ a good thing to be around. One of the warriors that was with Kaia had gotten hit by a venipede, and was paralyzed for a few days. He had to immediately be taken to the nursing station near the Chrysalia castle. If they hadn't done that, the warrior could have died.

"Quinn, listen to me," said Kaia, "Venipede are surprisingly aggressive and have very powerful poison. Whirlipede only attack when they feel threatened, so try not to come off as menacing toward it. If they attack, they'll spin as fast as they can, and hit you with their poison barbs. Scolipede poison is extremely deadly. It'll grab you with the claws on its neck and then stab you with the poison from the horns on its head. Just don't make any sudden movements."

When Kaia was done with her explanation, she noticed that Quinn looked paler. Kaia glanced at Etain and saw that the growlithe was standing protectively slightly in front of all the other pokémon. It looked like he was about to growl.

 _Etain calm down!_ ordered Kaia, _Do not provoke those pokémon. You, of all these pokémon, should know what happens if you do that. Just be prepared to attack. Even though you have the advantage, we don't know what to expect. Whirlipede attack extremely fast._

Kaia knew that Etain had heard her, and she saw him slowly nod. It was just the right speed so that the pokémon wouldn't attack them. Kaia then glanced at Leif and saw that the servine was trying his best not to shake. Of course he would be nervous; he was weak to _both_ bug and poison types. Kaia glanced to Nereus, and saw that the dewott was ready for a battle. He might have gotten a little too much confidence when he evolved.

Seira the blitzle was nervous. She was ready to bolt and run away at any moment. She was trying her best to not appear scared, and to look normal, but it wasn't really working for her.

One of the venipede took a small step forward, and it freaked Seira out. She immediately sparked and accidentally sent a small Thunder Wave to that venipede, hitting it, and paralyzing it. The rest of the group didn't seem to like that, and they stayed still, glaring at the two trainers and their pokémon.

Just like the calm before the storm.

Kaia and Etain started stepping back. Of course she had to get attacked again in Pinwheel Forest. Kaia turned her back and looked to Quinn with alarm in her eyes.

"Damn it. Run!" she shouted before running off.

"What happened to not making any sudden movements?" shouted Quinn. He had immediately followed Kaia, but still wanted to know why they just suddenly started running.

"It's already to late for that!" shouted Kaia, "Seira got spooked and provoked them! If we don't get away, we'll probably die!"

Kaia looked behind her and was glad to see that their pokémon were able to keep up with them. The wild pokémon reacted and chased after them. The whirlipede kept trying to tackle the trainers and their pokémon, but just barely missed every time. The scolipede were waiting for the whirlipede to be successful in an attack so they could come in for the kill.

A whilipede was able to hit Quinn's leg, and it made him fall over. A scolipede then ran over to Quinn, hoping to stab him with its poison. Kaia picked him up and commanded Etain to use Ember on the scolipede. The growlithe obeyed, and was able to severely injure that scolipede. A venipede then ran up behind Kaia and hit her in the back. Kaia stumbled forward, and then picked up Quinn. When he was attacked, the whirlipede had actually poisoned him as well.

Kaia coughed and kept stumbling forward. She had gotten poisoned by the venipede that attacked her.

 _Etain, hit any and all wild pokémon that comes near with Ember. Make it as strong as you can, and aim to kill._

The growlithe yipped in response, and started shooting Ember at all the bug types. Kaia looked at Seira and Leif.

"Look, I know I'm not your trainer," she said while they all were running, "But I'm trying to save him, so just cooperate with me. Leif, stay close; if anything comes close to you or anyone else, use your strongest attack! Seira, try to use your long range attacks to keep them at bay! Nereus! Don't get close; instead use Water Gun!"

She saw all of the pokémon nod in her peripheral vision, and they kept going with a plan in mind. All she needed to do was get back on the path, or get to a clearing where some trainers usually passed through. She might even be lucky enough to cross paths with a trainer going through the forest. Kaia scanned her surroundings, trying to figure out where they had begun to stray off the path, and get back to that point.

A venipede came close, and was immediately burned by Etain. He couldn't let anything happen to his trainer. She was his top priority. Of course, the others were important too, but Kaia was the only one that he was linked to. The growlithe couldn't imagine what it would be like without his trainer and best friend.

More venipede and whirlipede came closer to Kaia, who was struggling to keep Quinn on top of her. Seira used Shock Wave, and hit a group of venipede. A whirlipede came close to Leif, and the servine used Leaf Tornado. The attack stopped the whilipede and pushed it back. The move wasn't very effective, but it kept the wild pokémon away, and that was what mattered the most.

Nereus used Water Gun when he saw some venipede near the two trainers, but was then hit by a whirlipede and was poisoned by it. Kaia saw her dewott stumble, and knew that he had gotten hit. She needed to put him back in his pokéball for now. Kaia pulled out the pokéball with some difficulty and returned her pokémon. Nereus had a surprised expression on his face, like he wasn't expecting Kaia to return him to his pokéball. At the moment, she needed all the help she could get. So why did she send him back? Did she not need his help as much? Was he still seen as that little oshawott that got injured the first day she was on her journey?

Kaia mentally sighed. She was going to have to explain to Nereus later. She jumped out of the way of a whirlipede, but it nicked her left leg. Kaia winced, and was forced to run slower. A scolipede saw this as an opportunity and came in to grab Kaia. It picked her up, making her drop Quinn, and she couldn't get out of its grip. It was about to stab her, but then was immediately hit by a huge ball of fire that ripped through it, leaving a hole behind. The wild scolipede dropped Kaia and the trainer looked at her growlithe and gave him a thumbs up.

 _Thanks Etain, you just saved my ass._

The growlithe smirked and stood protectively near his trainer. Before either of them could recover, they were both hit by different venipede. Kaia was now badly poisoned, and Etain had just gotten poisoned.

Leif and Seira were handling themselves pretty well. Neither of them had gotten poisoned yet, and they were able to protect both themselves and their trainer. Kaia's commands were actually working well for them. Leif used Leaf Storm on another venipede that got close, and Seira used Shock Wave to knock all of the wild pokémon back.

Kaia got up and picked Quinn up again. She could finally see the path that they had strayed off of. Hopefully once they got there, the wild poison-types would leave them alone.

The trainer put in one last effort to get to the path with the pokémon around her offering protection from the wild pokémon. Kaia stepped onto the path and set Quinn down. She then got her dagger out and got ready to attack any wild pokémon that came near. Etain kept using his fire attacks to keep the pokémon at bay, and Quinn's pokémon did the same with their own attacks.

A venipede jumped at Kaia, and she stabbed it with her knife. The pokémon was injured, and ran back to the group. The wild pokémon slowly stopped attacking, and retreated further back into the forest. It looked like the attack was finally over. Kaia fell to the ground from exhaustion, and so did Etain. It was strange how once they reached the path, the pokémon retreated. Why did they never attack the trainers on the route? Was it just less trouble for them when a trainer strayed from the path and went further into the forest?

Kaia frantically searched for a pecha berry tree to help Quinn, Etain, Nereus, and herself with the poison. She had black spots dancing in her vision, and she felt like she was about to pass about. She looked around, and finally saw the tree with the pink berries she was looking for. Kaia slowly got up and stumbled over to the tree. The pecha berries that they had eaten earlier helped dull the effects of the poison, but that also meant that there weren't that many berries left on the tree.

She climbed up and picked the berries she found from the tree and started laughing from her luck. Both of the trainers and two pokémon needed pecha berries, but there were only three left on the tree.

"Fuck," muttered Kaia. That meant someone wasn't going to get a berry.

Kaia sighed. She was going to end up making herself not get the last berry. It was all her fault in the first place for not noticing that they had strayed off the path until it was too late.

But that was just how things worked. There was never going to be enough for everyone. Everything always had to be divided, and when that happened to Kaia, she just decided to let others have some of what she needed, or in some cases, all of it.

Kaia sighed and took Nereus's pokéball out and made him lay down on the ground. She then moved Quinn so he was laying on the ground on his back. That's what they did for the warrior that had gotten poisoned before. Etain didn't want to lay down and stop moving, but Kaia eventually got him to. The growlithe laid down on his stomach next to Nereus.

The trainer then got up and looked for some leaves that were big enough to smash up the berries for the other trainer and the two pokémon that were poisoned. She found a few that were pretty big for leaves, but the perfect size for smashing. It looked like Etain and Nereus would be able to eat the berries, but Quinn was still unconscious. He was looking pretty bad.

Even though she felt light-headed, Kaia was able to mash up one of the pecha berries and feed it to Quinn while Etain and Nereus ate their berries. By now, Kaia had a slight fever that was only going to get worse.

Nereus finished off his berry, and Etain was only halfway through his. Kaia looked at her growlithe in confusion. Etain then pushed the other half of his berry to his trainer. Kaia sighed and shook her head. She then pushed it back to him.

 _The only way you're going to get rid of all the poison is by eating the entire berry,_ scolded Kaia, _Don't worry about me; I'll be fine._

Etain glared at his trainer as he finished the berry. She obviously was not fine. She was always doing this, even back home. She would give others what she needed, either all of it or a huge majority. Etain finished the rest of his berry while still glaring, but it didn't really bother Kaia all that much. She kind of deserved it after all. She got them into that mess, and she didn't give herself one of the pecha berries.

"We'll start going again when Quinn wakes up," said Kaia to all of the pokémon. They all nodded, and Kaia looked down at her leg that was still bleeding. She reached into her bag and pulled out an extra shirt she had packed. She then cut a strip off the bottom with her knife and wrapped it around the cut. The cut wasn't too deep, but it still hurt like hell.

She finished the knot on the cloth, and looked over at Quinn. It looked like he was sleeping kind of peacefully now that he had eaten the berry. He should wake up in an hour or two, so they had some time to kill. Kaia sighed and sat down on the grass. All that was left was to wait.

* * *

 **Helloooo! I have survived a hurricane! And I'm sorry this chapter is late! I'm not gonna give you guys any excuses, but I didn't forget either. Things just got a little complicated with life, so yeah.**

 **Well, anyway, I hope you liked this chapter! I'm actually doing pretty good with keeping up on these updates, huh? So, follow, favorite, or maybe leave a review please!**


	12. The Road to Castelia

An hour had passed, and Quinn was starting to wake up, while Kaia was struggling to stay awake. Leif and Seira rushed over to their trainer. Quinn sat up and rubbed his head.

"What happened," he muttered, looking around. The last thing he remembered was getting hit by the wild pokémon and Kaia running over. Kaia looked over at Quinn and breathed a sigh of relief.

"Good," she said, "You're awake. Now, if you don't mind, I think I'm going to just lay here for a few minutes."

The trainer then leaned back and passed out. The poison had finally taken full effect.

Etain huffed. He honestly thought she would have fainted a lot earlier. Why did Kaia always do this type of thing?

Quinn looked at his travel partner in shock.

"Wait a sec!" he exclaimed, "What the hell happened?! Why is she on the ground?!"

Quinn looked at Kaia and saw the familiar line of purple indicating that she was poisoned. Once he realized what that meant, Quinn slightly freaked out. What was he supposed to do? There weren't any pecha berries around, or else Kaia wouldn't be poisoned, and he didn't know how far they were into the forest to be able to get to a Pokémon Center or hospital. Did Nacrene even have a hospital? Maybe Castelia would be a better idea?

Quinn jumped as he received a small shock from Seira, literally. The blitzle walked over to Quinn's bag and nudged it with her hoof. Of course! He could check if he had an antidote somewhere! He went to his bag and started rummaging through it. What if he couldn't find one? Quinn kept looking around, and pulling everything out of his backpack.

He almost lost hope, but then saw that there was one thing left in his bag. His eyes sparkled as he pulled it out. Luckily for Kaia, it was an antidote! Quinn pulled it out, and rushed over to Kaia. Etain saw that Quinn had an antidote and yipped happily. Quinn looked at Kaia, and then at the antidote. Just, where was he supposed to spray it. Was he even supposed to spray it on her?

Etain saw that Quinn didn't know what to do, so he moved closer to Kaia and tried to roll her onto her stomach, causing her glasses to fall off. He knew that she had gotten hit in the back by one of the wild pokémon, and that she got nicked on the leg, so he tried to show Quinn that. Luckily, Quinn understood what Etain was trying to show him. He took the cloth off of Kaia's leg and sprayed it with the antidote. He then hesitantly lifted her shirt and sprayed the rest of the antidote on her back.

Quinn looked down at Etain and smiled. Etain smirked back and grabbed the rest of Kaia's extra shirt. They could just buy her another one later. Quinn ripped the shirt in two, and tied one half around Kaia's leg, and folded the other half up. He didn't know if it would be needed again. Quinn looked at Etain.

"So Kaia, you, me, and Nereus got poisoned?" asked Quinn. Etain nodded in response.

"And I guess there were only three pecha berries left?"

Another nod.

"And Kaia gave up hers for me, or one of you?"

Yet another nod from the growlithe. Quinn frowned and threw a random rock.

"That's so stupid!" he yelled. Why did Kaia have to do something like that? They barely knew each other and just started on their journey, so why did she decide to save him instead of her?

Etain huffed. He knew his warrior - well, trainer - did stupid things, but he never understood why. Even if they were linked. That didn't mean he would always understand her.

Quinn looked back down at Kaia and picked up her glasses, setting them next to her. Hopefully she would wake up soon. She would need some time to recover from the poison, so they couldn't really do anything right now.

* * *

After some time passed, Kaia started waking up. Through her blurred vision, she was barely able to tell that they were still in the forest. She ached all over, and felt a dull pain in her back and leg. The trainer felt her growlithe start licking her face. Kaia slowly got up and chuckled.

"Etain, stop that," she said. Etain didn't listen, and instead, he put his paws on her lap.

Kaia looked around, but she still couldn't recognize anything. Her vision was too blurry. That's right! Her glasses! Where were they?

She saw a figure moving toward her, and she immediately got her dagger out and pointed it at the figure.

"Relax. It's me," said Quinn as he handed her the glasses. Kaia put them on and saw that it indeed was Quinn.

"My bad."

Kaia rubbed her back, and had just realized that she could move around, and she wasn't feeling as much of the effect of the poison.

"What happened?" asked Kaia, "Why can I move around so easily? I thought there weren't anymore berries."

Quinn smiled and held up the empty bottle of the antidote.

"I had an antidote," he said.

"Oh."

"But," said Quinn, "How come you didn't get yourself a pecha berry? Most people I know would give one to themselves first."

Kaia was about to answer, but stopped herself. She didn't want to reveal her life's story to this kid. She hadn't known him for that long anyway! Just under a day!

Of course, it would be easier to tell him, but Kaia wasn't comfertable sharing things like that. If you let someone know everything about you, it can eventually turn to blackmail. That really wasn't something Kaia wanted to deal with, even if this guy didn't look like he could so something like that. He looked like he was the type of guy to follow the rules and he wouldn't do anything wrong. Looks don't mean anything. Kaia had met kids that were a lot younger as Warriors in the Kingdom of Yaksha. Everyone knew that was just a cover for the assassins of the dark type kingdom.

Looks didn't mean anything. Everyone should be judged the same way.

"So?" prompted Quinn. Kaia had been quiet for a while, and he was getting worried. Was she about to faint again? The poison might not be out of her system completely yet!

"It's none of your business," said Kaia, "I'm not going to tell someone who acts too much like a child why I do the things I do. You should just be glad I helped you out. There was nothing stopping me from taking it for myself and leaving you here to die."

Leif and Seira glared at Kaia and pretty much growled at her. Leif's vines were ready to attack, and Seira was sparking. Etain and Nereus took that as a cue to get ready to attack as well. Flames were starting to form around Etain's mouth, and Nereus had his paws near his scalchops, ready to grab the, and use Razor Shell.

"Everyone, stop!" yelled Quinn. Kaia and the pokémon just stared at the blond trainer in shock. Kaia didn't know he could raise his voice like that. He just seemed like a quiet, soft-spoken kind of guy to her. Not someone that could just stop a battle that was about to happen.

"Vine?"

Quinn smiled at his servine and said, "Look, it was my fault for being curious, I guess."

Kaia looked at the other trainer with interest. Quinn just blamed himself so he could end the soon to be battle. Even if there was nothing wrong with what he did, he acted like something about it was wrong to end the argument. It almost made Kaia feel bad. Almost.

But it wasn't her fault she didn't want to share everything with Quinn. She just didn't trust him too much yet. How much trust could you really build up in a day?

Kaia got up and looked at Quinn.

"We should get going," said Kaia, "I really want to get out of this forest now."

She walked past the other trainer, and her pokémon followed her. Quinn looked down at his own pokémon, and decided to follow her.

As they were walking, Kaia didn't say anything. Etain couldn't even figure out what she was thinking. Kaia had blocked him from using the link to connect to her mind. No one knew what was going through her head.

They soon got through the forest, without anymore incidents, and it was nighttime by the time they had gotten out. Before them was a huge bridge that lead to Castelia. Fitting for a bridge a small large as this to lead to one of the largest cities in Unova. All they had to do was cross this bridge, and then they would be at Castelia.

The two trainers looked at each other. Past this bridge would be the city where the third gym was.

they crossed the bridge quickly and got to Castelia. Quinn's jaw dropped as he gaped at the enourmous buildings. Everything was lit up dimly seeing as it was nighttime, when most people were in bed, and others would be out, ready to mug any unsuspecting soul that just happened to be walking by.

"It's probably so much better during the day," said Quinn, "I guess we should look for a Pokémon a Center to stay in for tonight, right Kaia?"

Kaia nodded, and the two trainers made their way to the Pokémon Center. Nurse Joy was still there, but it would be strange if someone decided to come in to heal their pokémon at this hour. They both walked up to the counter and Quinn smiled.

"Hey Nurse Joy, can we get a room?" he asked. Nurse Joy looked hesitant. Probably because Quinn and Kaia were the same age, and opposite genders. She was most likely thinking the worst.

Kaia sighed.

"You don't have to worry about anything Nurse Joy," said Kaia, "We just met each other, and we're traveling together for now. Nothing's going to happen."

"Alright then," said Nurse Joy as she handed Kaia the key. Joy still didn't seem too sure about it, but it's not like she couldn't let them stay there for the night.

"If I hear anything, I'm kicking you two out," said the nurse. Kaia smiled.

"Of course, we understand," she said.

The two trainers walked to their room and decided on their beds. Quinn immediately laid down on the bed.

"This feels so nice!" he exclaimed, "I'm ready to just close my eyes and sleep until tomorrow!"

Kaia smirked. Quinn deserved it. They had gone through a lot today, only Kaia was used to something like this. Trainers in this world weren't normally prepared for pokémon attacks. How could kids prepare for something like that? That wasn't really something they were taught before going on their journey.

The trainer looked down at her leg. She had forgotten to go somewhere to get it checked out. She should probably do that as soon as she can. That meant right away. She silently made sure that she had everything with her, and then left the room with Etain and Nereus, signaling for them to be silent as well.

She was planning to leave Quinn anyway. Was not saying goodbye the right thing to do? Not really, but what other choice did she have? If she left during the day, Quinn would probably be able to catch up with her.

If Quinn stayed with them, and if Kaia's luck on routes stayed the same, then it would be a lot harder to try and keep Quinn safe. There would be one time where it wouldn't be enough. Someone would die. Whether it be one of the trainers, or a pokémon.

Kaia slowly and quietly closed the door and stepped out into the hallway with her pokémon. They looked at her in confusion, and Kaia smiled nervously.

 _Don't worry,_ said Kaia to her growlithe, _I just need to get something checked out. I'll explain to you and Nereus later._

Etain sighed, knowing that this was the best answer he was going to get. The pokémon followed their trainer out of the Pokémon Center. Kaia didn't know where she was going, maybe a hospital or something?

When they were outside of the Pokémon Center, Kaia looked at her pokémon.

"I'm going to have to return you two to your pokéballs for a while, until I find out where to go. Once I've taken care of everything, we're going to find somewhere else to sleep, and challenge the gym here tomorrow. I'll explain everything later."

* * *

 **Alright, I know it's an awkward place to leave it, and I know it's late, and I'm sorry. I was working my ass off to get it done in time, but I guess that didn't happen...**

 **But anyways, HAPPY OCTOBER! The spooky month is here! Spooky scary skeletons, ghosts goos, and fabulous pumpkins *insert pumpkaboo here***

 **Is Quinn going to be left behind is Castelia by Kaia? What's going to happen? Are they going to find each other later on? Or is Kaia going to get found by Quinn on her way to the gym? Such suspense!**

 **I have one more thing for you guys. What do you guys think about a special Halloween chapter? Is it something you guys would like? Or is it just something dumb that you think authors just stick in there?**

 **Okay, so that's it! I hope you all enjoyed, and favorite, follow, or possibly leave a review if you wish!**


	13. On the Run

A woman in a lab coat walked around her clinic. She was closing up for the night, as the last patients were leaving. Many of the lights were turned off, and all that was left were the televisions in the lobby, and the monitors and computers at the front desk and the last few offices.

"Hey Rita!"

The woman turned around and saw one of her coworkers. He had messy black hair and dark brown eyes. He also wore a Lab coat, but it was slipping off his shoulder.

"Hey Nate, what's up? And can you please look professional and not like some sleep deprived kid in college?"

Nate crossed his arms and looked at the woman with light brown hair. He fixed his lab coat and sighed.

"You know I'm just an intern here," said Nate, "And I'm finishing up college, so that's what I am, not what I look like."

Rita smirked evilly and said, "Keep up that attitude and you can intern somewhere else."

Nate sighed and crossed his arms.

"Alright, I'm sorry! Let's just close it up, alright? I'm tired and I have classes in the morning."

"Sounds like a sleep deprived kid in college to me," said Rita and she giggled. Nate sighed, and they both looked at the entrance. They saw a girl limp in. She looked like a trainer. Her leg was wrapped in a bandage, and she was breathing heavily. Nate mentally groaned. All he wanted to do was close up and get some sleep. At least this could be an interesting story.

"Do you guys have any sort of bandages or something like that? I just need a few, then I'll be on my way," said Kaia, hoping to quickly be out of there. Since it was a walk-in, it didn't look like she would have to stay there. She could just be in and out and find a bench to sleep on or something.

Nate looked at Kaia, and then to Rita. The older woman nodded.

"Yeah," she said, "I'll look in the back to see what I can get. Nate, try to clean her leg a bit more."

Kaia smirked sheepishly, "I need some for my back too."

She then chuckled nervously, and Rita and Nate looked at each other with worry in their eyes. Rita nodded.

"Alright, I'll make sure to get enough for both of your wounds."

Rita left the room, and Nate looked at Kaia.

"I'll get a wash cloth, wait here."

"Yeah, okay," responded Kaia. Nate left again, and soon came back. He was holding a bucket and a washcloth. Kaia undid the makeshift bandage around her leg and watched as Nate stared at it.

"What the hell happened to you?" asked Nate.

"Just some poison pokémon," said Kaia, "No biggie."

"What the hell? So you were poisoned too?" exclaimed Nate, "I swear, you trainers always get yourselves into trouble. Pokémon poison is not something to laugh at."

"So what?" said Kaia, "I took an antidote? That's always enough."

"For pokémon, not humans," said Nate with annoyance. He then sighed. "At least you did the right thing and came here."

Nate finished cleaning Kaia's leg and looked at her again. If it was a wild pokémon's attack, did she get hit anywhere else?

"Did the pokémon hit you anywhere else?" asked Nate. Kaia hesitated, and then nodded. Nate sighed.

"Just show me."

Kaia turned around and started to lift up her shirt. Nate blushed.

"W-what are you doing?" he asked.

"I got hit in the back too," she deadpanned, "What did you think?"

Nate quickly looked away and said, "Don't worry about it. Just forget it."

Kaia lifted her shirt a little more and Nate started to clean the wound on her back. Nate was soon done, and Rita came back in with some bandages. She looked surprised. She definitely was not expecting to see the two wounds Kaia had. Or that she was attacked by poison type pokémon and did nothing about it. Soon, they had Kaia all patched up and ready to go. Kaia took a few tentative steps, but was still limping slightly. Either way, she would still be able to walk out of there and get on with her gym battle challenge.

The trainer thanked Nate and Rita, and left the walk-in. Once she was gone, the two looked at each other.

"Do you think she'll really be alright?" asked Nate. Rita sighed.

"I don't know, but if she decided to walk out of here, I think she should be fine."

Nate sighed and looked at the door with Rita. After a few moments, they both looked at each other in shock.

"We never had her pay us!"

* * *

Kaia looked around. She had to find a bench to sleep on. And it had to be in a place where Quinn wouldn't easily find her. The whole point of this was to get away from Quinn after all. Kaia groaned, thinking about how she was going to have to explain this to her pokémon. Etain would be mad at her for keeping him in the dark again.

The trainer walked around, and saw that the only benches were in areas that were easy to get to. That was probably the point of benches anyway. Kaia sighed. What if there was another Pokémon Center in the city. It was so big, that it just _had_ to have two of them, right? Kaia nodded, making that her new goal. Hopefully there was another one. If not, she didn't know what she would do.

After an hour of walking around the huge city of Castelia, Kaia didn't find another Pokémon Center. She sat down on a bench in the now mostly empty park. Now she didn't know what she was going to do. As she was sitting on a bench, Kaia looked up at the sky. The stars were dimmed due to the city lights. She then looked at the buildings themselves. They all looked so similar, but at the same time, kind of different.

Who was she kidding. The buildings were almost all the same. The only difference was the height of the buildings. However, some of the buildings looked like they had flat roofs. Wait, flat?! She could just sleep on one of those! Not many people would look up there!

Kaia walked to one of the buildings that still looked like it was open. She looked up, and it seemed like this one had a flat enough roof. She walked inside and entered the stairwell from a corner in the room. She went up the stairs and was pleased to find out that the stairs led straight to the roof. Just like she had hoped for. Kaia opened the door to the roof and stepped out. The cool night breeze felt really nice, and Kaia could see the stars better at that altitude, since there weren't many lights dimming the stars.

Kaia laid down on the roof and looked up at the stars. She could just let Etain and Nereus out of their pokéballs the next day. It was very unlikely that Quinn was going to find her way up there. All that was left was to sleep, then prepare for a gym battle the next day.

* * *

 **Ahhhh I'm so sorry this was so late! I haven't updated in almost two months, I'm such a bad author. I don't even know why I didn't update in the first place. Some school work just caught up with me, I guess. Like a typhoon of assignments.** **So for a while, I'm just going to update this as I finish chapters, and they're going to be a little shorter to be able to update faster as well. I think that might end up working better.**

 **What do you guys think about Kaia hiding from Quinn? Is it sad to sort of see him go? Or do you just not care? Either way, the drama train is coming down. Hopefully it doesn't crash!**

 **So, yeah. I hope you liked this chapter! See ya next time, thanks for reading, and maybe follow, favorite, or leave a review!**


	14. Separation

The next day, Kaia woke up with a sore back. She was never going to do that again. Sleeping on the hard ground was definitely not recommended for people's shoulders and back. That was just a poor decision.

Kaia sat up and rubbed her back. She looked down at her trainer belt and sighed. She was already sore, so it wouldn't matter if Etain attacked her. She wasn't in the mood to fight with him anyway. She grabbed the two pokéballs and threw them up in the air. Her two pokémon came out of the pokéballs, and Etain immediately blew fire at Kaia. The growlithe's trainer just lifted her arm and let it burn her. At this point, she really didn't care anymore.

"Are you done?" asked Kaia with a bored tone, "Or do you still need to blow more fire at me?"

Etain huffed and looked away from his trainer. Kaia looked at Nereus.

"Hey Nereus, use Water Gun on my arm would ya?"

"Dew wott."

Kaia felt the cooling water and breathed a sigh of relief. She had already gotten burned before from Etain when he was just a pup, so it really didn't faze her anymore. She rubbed her arm and looked at her partner.

"Seriously Etain? I thought you were over this faze. Would you let me explain now?"

Both Nereus and Etain looked around at their surroundings. They were on a roof!

"I slept on a roof instead of a warm Pokémon Center bed. Why? Because we need to get away from Quinn. I'm a magnet for wild pokémon attacks, and I don't want to keep dragging Quinn into it. I hate to admit it, but one day, it's gonna be too much. Whether it be Quinn, or one of us, someone would die. There would be too many pokémon to handle. And I don't want that to happen to either of you, or me. It's better for us and him if we just split up. Plus, I don't like sticking my neck out for someone like that. You know this Etain. I didn't really do this for other Warriors back home either. We have to look out for ourselves."

Etain and Nereus looked down. They knew their trainer was right, they just didn't want it to happen like this. They were actually starting to get used to having more pokémon around, and they thought it was better for Kaia to have another trainer around.

Kaia sighed. She knew what Etain was thinking but she just couldn't avoid it. She just didn't want to put Quinn in danger. She didn't want a death on her hands because of her bad luck.

The trainer stretched her back and looked around. How was she going to avoid him? She was sure he was probably trying to find her now. She couldn't just live on the roof for a few days. Someone would most likely find her up there and throw her out. She also had to battle the gym, but that would probably be where Quinn looked for her the most.

* * *

And Kaia was right. The second Quinn got up and noticed that she wasn't there, he looked around the Pokémon Center. Nurse Joy wasn't really that much help either. Apparently Kaia had just given her the key and walked out. Kaia hadn't said where she was going or anything. Quinn ran out of the Pokémon Center, and started searching for his traveling partner.

Quinn looked around for Kaia, but where would she be? The city was gigantic, there was no way he was going to find her easily. Quinn looked around and sighed. If he wanted to find her, it was going to take days if she was still in the city, but if she had left, he would probably never see her again.

Leif and Seira looked at their trainer. He was really worried about that other stupid trainer. The two pokémon knew they should have attacked her when they had the chance. Now she was the cause of their trainer's worry.

Quinn sat down on the curb as he tried to think of new ideas. As he was looking around, he spotted a street where many trainers were headed down. Maybe that was the direction of the gym? Quinn got up and walked down that same street. He saw many trainers battling each other to prepare for their gym battles. There was also somewhat of a line forming at the entrance of the gym. Quinn looked at his two pokémon. Maybe Kaia was in there?

Quinn walked inside and looked at the trainers in line. They all looked pissed at him. One boy crossed his arms and glared at Quinn.

"Hey bub, if you want to challenge the gym, you have to wait at the end of the line like all of us. No cutting in line!"

There were choruses of "yeahs" and "get to the end of the line" from other trainers that had already been waiting in line for a few hours now. Quinn stepped back, but then became more determined to find Kaia.

"Have any of you seen a trainer with a growlithe and dewott?" he asked. All the other trainers shook their heads. Quinn sighed and left the gym.

"So she wasn't there after all," he said, "That means she's still in the city, or she already left."

"Bli blitzle blitz," said Seira. Quinn nodded.

"You're right," he said, "If she wants to challenge the gym, there's no way she would already be out of here. Just look at that huge line! And there's no way she would have already challenged the gym because of that line. So she's still in the city somewhere. We just have to figure out where."

Leif and Seira nodded, following their trainer around Castelia to try and find Kaia.

* * *

Meanwhile, Kaia had just arrived at the gym coming from the other direction. Kaia looked around. She didn't think that Quinn was around there. He probably checked the gym first. Kaia looked at the huge line coming out of the gym. She groaned.

"Why is there such a long line?" she complained. Kaia did not think there would be that many challengers to the gym at one time. Etain started laughing at her.

 _Etain, do you really have to be like that? I'm still not over you burning me earlier. How would you like it if I had Nereus use Water Gun on you?_

That comment made the growlithe quiet immediately, causing Kaia to smirk in victory. Kaia looked at the line and sighed.

"I guess we'll just have to come back later," she said with a sigh, "We can't help the line, and I really don't want to be in a place where Quinn can find us easily."

Her two pokémon nodded, and they walked off to another part of the city to find somewhere else to hide.

* * *

 **And I'm back just a day later! Yay! So yeah, what I said the last chapter still goes, I'll be posting these as soon as I finish them for a while. Probably until New Year's. I'm thinking that would work out best, allowing me to start of the new year with a better schedule. So yeah, I hope you liked this chapter, and I'll see you in the next one. Follow, favorite, or leave a review if you so wish. Bye!**


	15. Waiting

Quinn kept looking around Castelia for Kaia. It had been a few days, and he was really starting to worry whether she was actually in the city or not. What could he say? He was a pretty persistent guy. He walked over to a bench and sat down, just like he had done a few days prior. He looked up at the sun. Maybe, it was time to move on? If he left the city, there could be a chance that he would find Kaia again. Someday. He groaned. Quinn was really looking forward to learning more about being a trainer from her. At least he learned one thing: don't leave without saying goodbye. That really hurts.

Quinn just glared at the area in front of him. People even averted his gaze. Who knew his glare would end up being so terrifying? He essentially froze people when he made eye contact with them.

He decided to get up. Quinn looked at his pokémon, and even they, creatures that could cause untold amounts of damage, were nervous. Quinn looked up down the street that lead to the gym. He had to get on with his journey. He couldn't try and find Kaia forever. He would end up running out of money soon enough.

"Let's go win a gym battle."

Quinn walked down to the gym. Leif and Seira were in their pokéballs, resting for the battle ahead. Seeing the long line didn't really faze him, he just got in and tried to plan out a strategy. He was going to win the first time challenging the gym, just like he had done all the other times. He still hadn't lost a battle, and he definitely was not going to start now. The only person he almost lost to was Kaia, but she wasn't important, now was she? She left him on his own after all. There was nothing _to_ think about a person like that.

All that was left now was to wait.

* * *

 _Etain, use Flame Wheel._

The growlithe used the now familiar move to finish off a swadloon. Kaia had been challenged to a battle by this kid saying he was the best bug catcher and trainer in the world. She stretched her back and then got her prize money from the kid. He looked upset about losing money, but that wasn't her problem. If he didn't want to lose money, then why did he try to fight a battle that he definitely was not going to win? When he challenged her, Kaia was petting Etain. The kid had to have known that Etain was a fire type.

"Next time, try to fight a battle when you actually have a chance of winning," said Kaia, "If you didn't know before, you know now. Growlithe's are fire types, which are super effective against grass and bug types."

The kid pouted.

"Alright fine," he said, "I get it, but you don't have to be so mean about it."

He then walked off to the Pokémon Center to get his swadloon healed. Kaia absentmindedly pet Etain's head and looked off in the distance.

"Do you think he finally quit?" she asked. _I mean, it's been a few days, hasn't it, Etain?_

The growlithe yipped, and Kaia sighed. She was going to go up on a roof to see if she could spot Quinn from down below. She didn't care about him, she just wanted to make sure that she would not run into him anytime soon. For her sake, not his.

Kaia went from roof to roof, trying to see if she spot the male trainer anywhere down in the streets. As she was moving from rooftop to rooftop, she paused as she noticed the line at the entrance to the gym. She looked closer, and noticed a familiar blond head. He was finally going to move on from Castelia. Kaia breathed a sigh of relief. She would finally be able to get proper rest at the Pokémon Center.

"About time," said Kaia. Etain and Nereus looked at their trainer in confusion. Kaia pointed down to the line where Quinn was. They noticed where the blond was and looked at each other. They both nodded, then suddenly attacked their trainer with Ember and Water Gun. Surprisingly, the two opposing elements worked together and hit Kaia in the shoulder. She leaped away in surprise and then fell to the ground. She just sat there, holding her shoulder.

"Do you guys seriously want to injure me even more?" asked Kaia, "Don't you think the wild pokémon attacks are enough?"

Her pokémon slightly glared at her. Kaia sighed. They really wanted her to apologize to Quinn, didn't they? She didn't like leaving him like that, she just didn't want to be a source of danger to him. Especially with her luck out in the wild. It just wasn't safe for him. She could handle it because of all her training and dealing with possibly fatal wild pokémon attacks, but he wasn't. None of the trainers here were. They just set off on their journeys without worrying about a thing. Without preparing themselves for what could lie ahead. They didn't think before making the choice to be a Pokémon Trainer.

And this wasn't just concerning to Kaia. It was concerning to the League and other officials, of course. Trainers weren't being careful on routes, and while the majority were lucky, there was a minuscule amount of trainers that got injured, or even killed. That was what Kaia wanted to avoid. She just wasn't good with people. She didn't know how to tell Quinn that.

Kaia sighed.

 _How was I supposed to do it? 'Hey Quinn, I'm leaving because I don't want either of us to die. Bye!' Yeah right. Like he would be okay with that._

Kaia would prefer to have him hate her than to try and explain what she was thinking. She laid on her back and looked up at the sky. There were only a few clouds, and it was kind of chilly outside. Kaia would have to get a coat sooner or later. The sun gave off some warmth, but soon, it wasn't going to be enough. She had overheard people talking about how Unova and Sinnoh usually have the worst winters. Snow everywhere. Some routes would even be closed off to trainers in Unova because of the snowstorms. That's probably why they had more gyms than any of the other regions. To make up for the winter.

The trainer sighed. Cold times awaited them all. But first, she had to get a gym badge.

* * *

 **Hey look at that! Another update. I guess it helps to be on break. So, we are coming to the end of Quinn's time here. He might come back later, he might not. Who knows? But, the drama train is still making its way down the Inseparable track, so look forward to that.**

 **I don't really have anything else to say for now, so I'll see you guys in the next one! Follow, favorite, or possibly leave a review if you so wish.**


	16. Quinn's Gym Battle

Finally, it was Quinn's turn to challenge the gym. After some battles with the gym trainers, he finally got to where Burgh was. Those gym trainers were nothing to laugh at, especially since Quinn had a blitzle and a servine. That didn't really give him any advantages in the gym. Leif was weak to bugs, and Seira couldn't do much against a dwebble. Hopefully, he would be able to defeat Burgh on his first attempt. He really didn't want to challenge the gyms more than one time. He dream was to become the strongest. He wouldn't have a pokémon faint in any battle. That was his mission. He wanted to be undefeated.

Quinn walked up to where Burgh stood.

"Welcome challenger!" said the flamboyant man, "Oh? You don't have any emotion in your eyes."

Quinn had a hard look on his face.

"Let's just battle."

Burgh sighed.

"Very well. Go! My first pokémon!"

Burgh sent out a whirlipede, and Quinn had very noticeable shivers. The gym leader looked at him in confusion.

"What's wrong?"

Quinn shook his head.

"It's nothing. Now to show you my pokémon."

The ref that was standing there looked at them.

"Are you both okay with a three on three battle?" he asked.

Quinn looked at the ref with a blank expression.

"I only have two pokémon."

"Then we'll have a two on two battle," said Burgh, saving his stuttering ref. The bug gym leader glanced at the ref, and then back at Quinn. What could have made a trainer act like this? He didn't look very excited for the battle. All the other trainers he had faced in the battles prior to this one were basically jumping out of their skin. They probably would have if they could.

Quinn nodded, and sent out his blitzle. Seira looked pumped for the battle as her mane sparked with electricity. Burgh smiled confidently and opened his arms wide.

"The challenger may have the first move," he said, his flamboyant personality shining through. Quinn nodded.

"Shock Wave."

Seira nodded and attacked the whirlipede. It was hit, and took a relative amount of damage.

"Use Poison Tail!"

"Dodge!"

Burgh smirked. Because most trainers tried to get their pokémon to dodge, his next move was perfect.

"Pursuit!"

His whirlipede nodded and chased after Seira. The blitzle was having a hard time escaping the bug and poison pokémon. Even though this was not a battle in the wild, both trainer and pokémon couldn't help but be intimidated. Of course, Seira was never poisoned during the even with the poison pokémon in the wild, but she saw her trainer get hurt and poisoned. He probably would have died if Kaia wasn't there with them. The blitzle swore to herself that she would never let that happen again. She would protect her trainer at all costs.

Quinn's blitzle was hit by Pursuit, and skidded back a few feet. Quinn worried for a moment. Just a moment. Then he remembered the trick he had up his sleeve. Something Burgh would not necessarily be expecting.

"Flame Charge!"

Seira nodded, and the blitzle's body was covered in flames. She charged at the whirlipede.

"Dodge!"

Burgh's whirlipede jumped out of the way, causing Seira's attack to miss. Quinn smirked.

"Quick! Use Flame Charge again before they can recover!" he shouted. Seira charged at the gym leader's pokémon and because she was faster this time, was able to hit it, even after it had jumped out of the way. A cloud of dust filled the area where they had collided. Quinn smirked. Using that super effective attack was either going to knock out the pokémon, or it would be very close to fainting. He just needed one more attack, and then he would most likely be facing Burgh's ace - his leavanny. He had heard trainers in the area talking about that leavanny. It was always the reason that trainers lost the battle to Burgh. It was strong for sure.

Burgh's whirlipede struggled to get up. Seira smirked. One more attack, and it would be done for.

"Quick Attack!" yelled Quinn. Seira charged in a burst of speed and hit the whirlipede. The physical contact activated the Poison Point ability, poisoning Seira. The blitzle was able to knock out the whirlipede but stumbled back because of the poison. Not again. Quinn took a pecha berry out of his bag and tossed it to Seira. The blitzle caught it and ate it, healing the poison.

"Challenger, will you switch your pokémon?" asked the ref. Quinn shook his head.

"We're good. Right Seira?"

"Bliiitz!"

"All right then!" said Burgh holding up a pokéball, "Now for my last pokémon!"

He sent out his leavanny, and it looked ready for a fight. Both Quinn and Seira looked ready as well. Quinn was not smiling as much, but there was a fire that could be seen in his eyes.

"Flame Charge!" yelled Quinn.

"Protect!"

A shield protected the leavanny and Seira stopped her attack before she ran into it. The blitzle then trotted back to her trainer, ready for the next attack.

"Razor Leaf!" yelled Burgh. His leavanny nodded and shot the leaves toward the blitzle. She got hit, but kept her ground. There was no way that Seira was going to be defeated so easily.

"Flame Charge!"

Seira nodded and her body was engulfed in flames. She charged at the leavanny, and hit it with the attack. The leavanny had tried to jump out of the way, but Seira was just too fast. She jumped back while the leavanny dropped a knee. He still had a lot more fight in him.

"Struggle Bug!"

Seira was able to jump out of the way this time, and she got ready for the next attack.

"Shock Wave, then Flame Charge!"

The blitzle nodded, and used the two moves in succession. The first move damaged the leavanny just enough for the second to knock it out. Quinn and Seira smiled. They had won the gym battle.

"Leavanny has fainted. Blitzle has won, leaving winner to be Quinn the challenger!"

Seira ran to her trainer and some electricity sparked off her mane. Quinn chuckled.

"Hey now. We just won. Don't try to electrocute me."

Burgh walked over to where Quinn was petting Seira. The gym leader held the badge in his hand. He got to where Quinn was and sighed.

"Awww I lost. Whatever. I'm not bugged by it because that just shows your amazingly great skills as a trainer. Since you beat me, this gym badge is yours. It's the Insect Badge. You earned it!"

Quinn nodded. Burgh also produced a TM.

"I'm a generous guy, so I'm also giving you this. It's one of those TMs and it's called Struggle Bug. It can also lower the opponents special attack in addition to damaging the target. Congratulations for beating me. That was a fun battle!"

Quinn nodded, thanking Burgh for the TM. He was then on his way, leaving for the next city.

Once Kaia noticed Quinn leave in the direction of the route, she walked to wait in line. She was glad he was finally going to move on, and now it was her time to challenge the gym. She would finally be able to move on. Hopefully no wild pokémon would attack her afterwards this time.

* * *

 **So there's the chapter, and this one would be considered on time! Yay look at that, I'm not a disgrace after all! Now is officially the end of Quinn. So yeah, there we go.**

 **Happy late Thanksgiving everyone! Well, anyone who celebrates it. This is technically being posted on Black Friday. I haven't gone out today at all, everywhere is so crazy. I hope you guys had fun with family and such. Heh, I wish I did.**

 **Anyway! I sincerely hope you guys liked this chapter, and follow, favorite, or leave a review please!**


	17. Castelia Gym Extermination

After many grueling hours of waiting, Kaia was finally allowed into the gym to challenge Burgh. She had seen many trainers walk out depressed because they couldn't beat his last pokémon. Others, however, were triumphant, and walked out triumphant, showing off their new Insect Badges. Kaia smirked and looked down at Etain. She was definitely going to win that gym battle with her trusted partner.

Kaia walked up to the battlefield, and saw Burgh waiting. Etain was ready to battle, and so was Nereus. They were all pumped up after the many days of waiting around. They had trained a little, but not too much. It didn't matter to Kaia; she knew they were going to win.

Burgh smiled. Yet another trainer that had determination in her eyes. Yet another trainer that would fall at the hands of his leavanny.

"Welcome to the gym!" said Burgh, "My pokémon are just scurrying with excitement to battle again. Will you win?"

Kaia smirked.

"Oh you know it."

Burgh smiled.

"I hope that confidence isn't a fluke," he said, "Because I'll destroy you if it is."

"I guess we'll just have to see about that, won't we?"

"If both of you are ready," said the ref, "Then it will be a three on three battle. First trainer to have all pokémon faint loses. Is that okay?"

Kaia rubbed her neck.

"I only have two pokémon," she said, "But I don't care. Burgh, you can use all three, and we'll knock them all out."

Burgh smiled. He liked seeing trainers all fired up like this. Both he and his pokémon were ready for this battle.

"I like your confidence," he said, "If you're okay with it, then let's begin."

Burgh started by letting out his whirlipede. Just like with Quinn, Kaia and her pokémon got chills and were intimidated by the pokémon. All because of that dumb attack out in the wild. Kaia looked down at Etain.

 _We're definitely going to beat it this time,_ she said to her growlithe, _That'll prove that we're better than those stupid poison types._

Etain nodded and jumped out to the battlefield. The ref lifted both of his flags and brought them down quickly.

"Battle, begin!"

"As the challenger, I'll go first," said Kaia, "Etain, use Ember!"

The growlithe nodded and blew the fire at the bug type. With Burgh's command, it jumped out of the way. Etain huffed, and blew a small flame in frustration.

 _Come on Etain, I hope you aren't frustrated just because you missed one little attack._

Etain looked back at his trainer, letting her see the fire in his eyes. He wasn't frustrated, he was excited. He needed to let out some energy before taking this battle seriously. Plus, he wasn't against a wild whirlipede this time. Burgh's whirlipede was trained and Etain was stronger than it. And there wasn't an entire group of them. Now it was just one on one.

"Poison Tail!"

"Dodge by jumping, then use Flame Burst!"

Etain nodded, and before he was hit by the attack, he jumped up, gaining leverage. A burst of fire flew toward the whirlipede, and then exploded when it reached him. Etain put so much power into the move that he ended up getting a critical hit on the whirlipede and made him faint in one hit. Burgh looked a bit surprised, but then pleased.

"Whirlipede is unable to battle. Etain is the winner," stated the ref. Burgh let his dwebble out, and the ref turned to Kaia and said, "Would the challenger like to substitute pokémon?"

Kaia nodded.

"Yeah, Etain, get back here," she said, "Nereus, get on out there and win this battle!"

The dewott nodded and ran out on the battlefield. He grabbed both of his scalchops and flipped them around, showing off as usual.

"Faint Attack!"

Burgh's dwebble disappeared and then hit Nereus from behind. He stumbled forward, but never fell down.

"Are you okay Nereus?" asked Kaia. The dewott nodded, still looking in good condition for the battle.

"Good," said Kaia, "So now use Water Pulse!"

Nereus nodded and hit his opponent with the ring of water. The move did a great amount of damage, and even confused the target. Kaia smirked, knowing that this battle was almost over.

"Now that he's confused, use Razor Shell!"

Nereus nodded and grabbed his two scalchops. A blue blade extended from both, turning them into dual blades. He jumped up and attacked with his two blades.

"Get out of the way and use Smack Down!" shouted Burgh. His dwebble nodded and got out of the way of one of Nereus's scalchops, and then used the move he was commanded to use. Nereus got hit, but he wasn't done yet. The good thing was that he wasn't panicking yet. If he were still an oshawott, he would be beyond freaked out at this point.

"Good job Nereus," said Kaia, knowing how far her dewott had come, "Just use Razor Shell again!"

 _This should be enough to knock it out, right?_ said Kaia to herself. She just couldn't imagine the dwebble standing after another one of Nereus's water attacks.

Kaia's dewott jumped up, preparing his two blades. He brought the two blades down, hitting the dwebble again and knocked it out, gaining Kaia another win. The ref looked at the dwebble, then lifted his flag toward Kaia.

"Dwebble is unable to battle. Nereus is the winner!"

Burgh sighed, returning his dwebble. Now, it was time for his ace to shine.

"Could it be time for me to bug out?" he said, "No! We're not going to be squashed by you!"

"Then bring out your ace," said Kaia, "Let's see if I win. You're gonna be exterminated."

Burgh smiled.

"I like that! You, challenger, have made my day."

The ref turned to Kaia again.

"Are you going to substitute pokémon?"

Kaia nodded. Because Burgh's ace is a leavanny, she didn't want to leave Nereus out there. Grass types being strong against water types and all that. However, a leavanny is four times weak to a fire type attack, Etain's specialty.

 _You're up Etain. We'll use our link to win this battle._

Etain nodded, and walked back onto the battlefield. Nereus walked back to stand at Kaia's side and cheer his teammate on. Burgh let out his leavanny.

 _Are you ready Etain?_

"Lithe growl growl lithe."

 _Alright fine, I get it. Then let's start off by using Flame Wheel._

Etain nodded. He jumped up and started rolling, flames encircling his body.

"Dodge!"

The leavanny jumped up into the air but Kaia and Etain weren't going to let that stop them from doing some damage.

 _Turn around and jump up before that flame runs out._

The rolling growlithe jumped up into the air, and hit the leavanny midair. Burgh smiled with amusement. This was yet another interesting trainer. She already had such a deep bond with her pokémon at such an early stage in her journey. Incredible!

Leavanny fell back. He then dusted himself off, ready for the next attack. Burgh and his pokémon looked at each other and nodded.

"String Shot then Razor Leaf!" he commanded. His leavanny nodded and shot the sticky string at Etain. While the growlithe was busy trying to get the sticky string off of him, he was hit by Razor Leaf.

 _Etain, burn the string off, and then use Fire Fang!_

The growlithe did as he was told and burned the string off of him. How did he not think of that on his own? It would just burn off because of his flame. Once the sticky string was off, Etain ran toward the leavanny. His jaw became enveloped in flames, and he bit Burgh's leavanny. The leavanny stumbled back, taking a lot of damage from the fire attack.

"Struggle Bug!" shouted Burgh.

 _Fire Fang!_

Both pokémon ran at each other, and attacked at the same time. It created a big cloud of smoke, and neither of the trainers could see what had happened. They had to wait for it to clear.

And it did. After a few seconds, the dust had cleared, showing both pokémon still standing. They were both just standing there. The trainers and ref anxiously awaited to see which pokémon would fall first.

The first pokémon to move was Burgh's leavanny. He fell to the ground while Etain was still standing. Kaia and her growlithe had defeated Burgh's ace pokémon, meaning she had won the gym battle! The ref looked at both pokémon, then raise his flag toward Kaia.

"Leavanny is unable to battle, making Etain the winner! The match goes to the challenger, Kaia!"

Etain turned around and ran to his trainer. He jumped up on her, knocking her to the ground. Funny how a pokémon that had just gone through a battle could still knock his trainer over. Etain licked Kaia's face for a good thirty seconds, and then let his trainer breathe. Nereus congratulated Etain, and after Kaia had recovered from having the wind knocked out of her by her puppy, she pet both of her pokémon, praising them on the good job that they had both done.

Burgh walked over to where Kaia was sitting with her pokémon.

"That was an amazing battle," he said smiling, "You've earned it. This is the Insect Badge, proof that you have beaten the Castelia City Gym. And since I'm such an awesome guy, I'm giving you this TM: Struggle Bug. Congratulations!"

Kaia smiled.

"Thanks Burgh," she said. Kaia got up and walked out of the gym.

Outside, she looked at her pokémon. They both looked exhausted, and so was Kaia. The battle wasn't that difficult, but pokémon battles always took a lot out of them.

"Let's stop at the Pokémon Center," she said. Her pokémon cheered in agreement, and they started walking to the Pokémon Center. On their way there, a man bumped into Kaia. He kind of reminded her of one of the members of the dark type kingdom back home in Ransei. He wore all black with a trench coat that had a high collar and sunglasses. It looked like he was trying to hide a majority of his face. Kaia stopped walking as she watched him walk by. Something about him just was not right. Etain seemed to notice it as well. He growled for a few moments, and then stopped. Nereus, however, was oblivious to the situation. He was trying to drag Kaia and Etain to the Pokémon Center. With some reluctance, Kaia and Etain decided to follow Nereus to the Pokémon Center and leave the street that the gym was located in.

Kaia and her team walked around the corner of the street. Suddenly, there was a loud noise, sounding like an explosion. The trainer turned around and ran back in the direction that she came. She stopped in her tracks at what she saw.

The Castelia City Gym had been attacked.

* * *

 **And done with the chapter! Left it on somewhat of a cliffhanger, hope you enjoy that.**

 **But yeah, that's all for now. I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter, and favorite, follow, or leave a review maybe?**


	18. Beginning of the Aftermath

**Heh I never do A/N's at the beginning, but I don't think I ever did a disclaimer for this. But, I think you all know I don't own Pokémon, just my OCs. Enjoy the chapter!**

* * *

A crowd of people was forming around the Castelia Gym. Smoke was coming out of it, and some trainers were on the ground unconscious. It was a terrible scene. Many of the trainers were injured with broken bones. Some were even being crushed by random parts of the building. Kaia returned her pokémon to their pokéballs, and pushed her way through the crowd. The main people injured were some challengers and a few gym trainers. No one had seen Burgh yet.

Some officials arrived at the scene. Some people were dressed in camouflage uniforms, and others were dressed like policemen. They immediately started investigating the scene, getting trainers out that were stuck inside. Some trainers that were standing around, like Kaia, stepped forward to help. She released both of her pokémon, and started lifting some of pieces of the buildings with other trainers and their pokémon.

Many ambulances showed up at the scene, taking the injured trainers to the hospital. Burgh emerged from his gym with only a few scratches. His leavanny had been able to use Protect so he and the gym leader wouldn't have been crushed. He had little strength left, but it was enough to use the move.

The trainers that weren't injured helped the officials move everyone that was injured and see if anyone else was inside the gym.

Kaia ran inside as well. She looked back to her dewott and said, "Nereus, stay here and keep helping out!"

"Dewa!"

As Kaia ran around inside, avoiding falling parts of the building, she couldn't help but think about that one man she had run into. That man in the black trench coat. Did he have something to do with all of this?

Suddenly, she felt something pulling on her bag making her stumble and stop.

"Etain!" she looked at her fire type, "Why did you do that?!"

The growlithe blew fire in the direction of a shadow. His trainer looked closely, and realized that this was the man in the trench coat. Kaia started running after him.

Kaia and the man both ran through the destroyed gym, avoiding different obstacles. They had to jump over a lot of things. Including bodies. Kaia felt a small pang of sadness. This didn't have to happen. She was only able to get out of it because she was lucky enough to have had her gym battle just a few minutes prior. If she would have been in the gym any longer...

She shook her head. Now was not the time to think about these things. She had to find out who this man was. There was no doubt he was behind the attack.

The mysterious man let out a pokémon with glowing green eyes, and yellow and purple fur. A liepard. Kaia barely saw the move coming at her before she jumped out of the way, effectively giving the man enough time to get away.

"He commanded it to use Night Slash," muttered Kaia, "But I didn't hear a command."

 _Do you think he's like us Etain?_

The puppy pokémon shook his head.

"Growl lithe growl growl lithe."

 _Yeah, I guess you're right. Why would someone from Ransei want to do something like this?_

Kaia and Etain walked out of the building looking depressed. They had let that one trainer get away. It was obvious that he was behind the explosion.

One of the officers in a camouflage uniforms walked up to her.

"What did you see in there?" he asked Kaia.

"There was a man in a trench coat," she started, "I saw him after I left the gym. Not long after, the blast went off in the gym."

The soldier looked interested.

"Come with me," he said, "We're going to have to talk more about this."

Kaia reluctantly nodded and followed the soldier. Why did it feel like she was in trouble for some reason?

* * *

 **Ahhh yeah, short chapter, I know. You'll have to forgive me for that. The attacker will be revealed in the next chapter, so you have that to look forward to!**

 **I guess I never really said when Nereus and Etain learned Water Pulse and Flame Burst. They just kind of learned the moves in the days they were waiting around, trying to avoid Quinn. I also want to explain another idea I was going to use in this story. First of all, it's not really original, since I got it from a comic I read online (Gamer Gardie by RakkuGuy on Webtoon btw just in case y'all were curious). Why should pokémon only get to know four moves at a time? Yeah, it would be insane to have a huge list of moves in the games, but I don't see why they wouldn't be able to use moves they knew before. So, I might have the pokémon use other moves that they had known toward the beginning at other points in time.**

 **And again, really sorry for the short chappie, I've been trying to deal with some personal problems. Anyways, favorite, follow, or possibly leave a review please!**


	19. A Cause for Unity?

Kaia followed the soldier to a separate building. Inside, they were starting to set up different pictures on a wall, trying to figure out why this could happen, and who could have done it. The soldier motioned to a table, and Kaia sat down. He leaned on the table, and looked at her.

"Wait here for a bit," he said, "I'm going to go get someone else."

Kaia sighed and stayed sitting in the chair. She felt like she would somehow be suspected for helping. She didn't really tell anyone about the man she saw. Well, there wasn't any time to do so. It all happened so quickly. Not that she was planning to tell anyone anyway. She didn't really think anything of it since she had seen people like that before. Unlike her previous experiences, an attack actually happened this time.

Soon, the soldier returned with a detective and police officer. The police officer nodded to Kaia. The trainer watched him with a guarded expression. She didn't know anything about officials in this world, so she didn't want to express too many different things.

"Thank you Lieutenant," said the police officer. The soldier nodded, and stepped back, but he was still close enough to listen to the conversation. The police officer looked back at Kaia.

"I'm Officer Johnson," he said, "But you can just call me Eric. And this is our detective."

Kaia nodded, and Eric leaned forward.

"So what did you see?" he asked. Kaia leaned back in her chair.

"When I left the gym after my gym battle — that I won, I might add — I headed toward the Pokémon Center. A man passed me—"

"What did he look like?" asked Eric.

"I was getting to that," said Kaia, "He was wearing all black, including a trench coat with a high collar and sunglasses. His collar almost covered his face looking at him from the side."

"Is there anything else?" asked Eric. Kaia nodded.

"When I went inside the gym to see if anyone else was inside, I saw him again. I chased after him, hoping to catch up, but he let out his pokémon to attack, and lose me. It was a liepard."

Eric and the detective looked down in thought. There had been smaller attacks made by pokémon recently, but this was different. Man did this, and they weren't sure whether it was with the help of pokémon, which was most likely, or not.

Eric looked back up at Kaia, and then all the televisions that they had changed to a different channel. Kaia looked at them in surprise. How could it change channels without them doing anything? Kaia jumped in surprise and fell out of her chair. Everyone in the room looked at her like she was crazy.

"What's wrong with you?" asked Eric. Kaia looked up at him from the ground.

"That thing changed images all on its own!" Kaia blurted out, still not knowing what the television was.

"You mean the TV?" said Eric, "Someone probably hijacked the signal. They're called channels."

Kaia looked at him in confusion.

"A TV?"

"Yes," said Eric with a sigh, "You know, a television?"

Eric saw that Kaia was still confused and groaned. He put his hand on his forehead.

"You know what? Never mind."

"But what's a signal?" asked Kaia, "You have to tell me!"

"No, I don't."

"But—"

"Be quiet! Something's coming up on the screen!"

There was a man on the screen in a black uniform with a black mask that covered his face, as well as a black hat, there was a blue and grey shield symbol on his black vest. All the officers in the room looked at it in shock.

"Team Plasma?" exclaimed the detective. Kaia looked even more confused. What in the world was Team Plasma?

There was a flash and the man's uniform changed. He was now wearing a white dress shirt and black slacks. The first two buttons of the shirt were unbuttoned, and he also had a black hoodie tied around his waist. He smirked, and then started to speak.

 _"You may have thought I was a member of Team Plasma,"_ he started, _"But that is just an assumption. We have merely taken the ideals Team Plasma valued. We need to liberate pokémon from their trainers. How can pokémon trust us if we just take them out of their natural environments and force them into pokéballs? It is unfair to them, and you all know it. You try to use pokémon as your tools — as your weapons."_

All the officials in the room tensed. Kaia frowned. Did people here really treat their pokémon as weapons? Just something to win gym battles with? Did Gym Leaders feel that way as well?

 _"That's what we are here for,"_ continued the man on the screen, _"To achieve our goal, we will not be using pokémon. Well, not how you trainers use them. We can connect with them on another level, something you will never be able to do. I bet you are all wondering what we call ourselves, so you can try and track us down."_

He walked to another area, all on screen of course, and stood next to a group of people.

 _"We are here to liberate pokémon from all you trainers,"_ he said smirking, _"So you can just call us Unity. We work to unite pokémon with the right kind of people, just like how they are supposed to be. People who can understand them. Not just children that will send them into battle without a care in the world. We free them from being tools, and to start, we will destroy each and every one of your pointless little gyms. Until we meet again."_

The television then switched to the channel it was on before, and although that still fascinated Kaia, she had to focus on what was happening.

All the officers in the room were even more tense than before. They weren't expecting something like this. No one was. This new group had rounded up more of the Plasmas, even though that team had been defeated in Unova, twice! They just did not want to give up. More specifically, Ghetsis was the one who was too stubborn to give up. His ideals still lived on and even inspired a new evil team. But that wasn't really the word for this situation was it? Unity wasn't really a team. Were they some kind of organization?

Eric and all the other officers sighed. This was going to be a pain in the ass.

* * *

 **Well would you look at that. Have I really just posted chapters two days in a row? I'm just going to take this moment and pat myself on the back. I mean, I think I've done pretty good by that.**

 **The new team is called Unity, if you didn't catch that. Between you and me, it took me a while to try and come up with that name. I don't know why, but I couldn't think of something good enough, until I thought of the word unity. They want to liberate pokémon, right? But only from normal trainers. They think that there's a certain attitude that should be in a person to be able to raise a pokémon. That just caused me to think of the attackers to be called Unity. It'll be pretty ironic if this ends up causing a type of rift in society. You know, since their name is "unity" and all that.**

 **I'll just stop rambling now. Um, I hope you guys enjoyed the chapter, and favorite, follow, or leave a review! Bye!**


	20. Technological Difficulties

All of Castelia City was in a buzz. No. All of Unova was in a buzz. A new group, Unity, had just revealed themselves, saying that they were going to destroy every gym Unova had. How could people not worry about that?

Kaia was still with the officers and soldiers. They were all speechless after the new group emerged. They were going to attack all the gyms separately? Was anywhere in Unova really safe anymore?

Eric and the detective looked at Kaia. Eric cleared his throat, causing Kaia to look up at him.

"You can go now," he said, "Thank you for telling us what you saw. I'll register you in my Xtransceiver, and if you find something else out, or if you need something, just let me know."

Kaia looked down at Eric's wrist, and for the first time, she saw the communication device on his wrist. She had never tried to use hers, since she could never figure it out. She was only barely able to figure out how to use her PokéDex.

Kaia watched as Eric registered her in the Xtransceiver and watched with fascination as the name popped up on her own communication device. Eric pressed the button to compete the registration, and did it for Kaia as well.

Once Eric finished registering them, Kaia looked at her Xtransceiver in amazement. She kept trying to look at it from different angles. She had never really tried to mess with it, so she almost forgot that she had it on until now. Eric and the detective looked at each other and sighed. They couldn't figure out was was wrong with her. It was like she had never seen something like it before. Usually, trainers were all about communication devices and technology, so why wasn't this one?

Kaia got up and stretched. She didn't exactly know what she was going to do, but it looked like her next destination was the next city.

The trainer left the building, and let her pokémon out of their pokéballs again. Etain and Nereus stretched, then looked at their trainer.

Kaia looked extremely serious. She had too many things on her mind. Well, not multiple things, but she couldn't get that man on the screen out of her head. He had said that only people that could truly understand pokémon would be allowed with them. Did that mean that they were like her? People that could truly understand pokémon. The only thing she could think of was people like her. Warriors from Ransei. What exactly was Unity all about. Who were they made of? If they were Warriors of some kind, how did they get there?

Etain sensed Kaia's uneasiness through their link. What had he missed while he and Nereus were in their pokéballs? Unity? What was that?

Etain huffed. The only thing he could do was trust his trainer. No, trust his linked partner. He and Kaia had a link before they were trainer and pokémon. That was what he needed to think of her as. Not a trainer. Although he let it start to happen, he couldn't forget that. He couldn't let this world change how he viewed his partner.

Kaia looked at her two pokémon.

"Let's go to the Pokémon Center," said Kaia, "Just like we were going to do before."

Her two pokémon cheered, and they started making their way over to the center to heal Nereus and Etain. As Kaia walked by the street where the gym was located, she couldn't help but look down the street. The crowd was mostly gone, but there were still quite a lot of people. All the people and trainers that were under the rubble were already gone. They had been taken to the hospital.

Kaia walked into the Pokémon Center, and gave Nereus and Etain to Nurse Joy so she could heal them. Kaia then walked away and sat down. She leaned back and looked at the ceiling. Maybe she wasn't as unlucky as she thought. If she would've been there any longer, she would have been caught in the destruction, just like those other trainers that she saw. Looks like she didn't have any luck when it came to wild pokémon attacks, but when it came to attacks caused by man, she didn't get caught in the crossfire. Well, there had only been one, so this could have also been a one time thing when she didn't get injured. She would have to see on the next route.

Kaia took out her PokéDex.

"Hey Fred," she said.

 _"What do you want?"_ responded the PokéDex.

"How do you know I want something?"

 _"That's the only reason you ever take me out. You want something, or you're bored."_

Kaia hesitated for a moment.

"Jeez. How can you act like an actual person?"

 _"I'm an AI. It's kind of what we do."_

"Wait, an AI?"

She heard the Dex sigh.

 _"Yes. Artificial Intelligence."_

"What?"

Frederic the PokéDex groaned.

 _"It is part of my programming. I really shouldn't explain it to you. I don't think you'll understand."_

"Hey!"

After waiting a little while, Etain and Nereus were ready to go. Nurse Joy handed the pokéballs back to Kaia, and the trainer let her pokémon out. It was time to get on the route to the next city, but Kaia didn't want to go just yet. She wasn't done with Fred.

"What do you mean it's part of your programming?" she asked.

She received no response from the PokéDex. Kaia became annoyed with it.

"Hey!" she shouted, "I'm talking to you!"

 _"That you are,"_ responded Fred, _"But I am not obliged to answer. Good day."_

It shut off again, and Kaia groaned. She held her temples because of the massive headache she was getting. This was why she didn't think about all of the technology — it gave her headaches. Now that she could just sit and think about it, everything she had seen just kept blowing her mind. She just couldn't believe all that had happened. Ever since that Unity announcement, she just couldn't seem to get Ransei out of her head. She couldn't get the things she left behind out of her head.

Kaia couldn't understand the technology either. She usually just got by without using anything electronic, but because of the Unity incident, she had to be focused on the television screens, and new notifications from the HoloCaster. She hadn't really attempted to use her HoloCaster, but now she was going to have to learn how.

* * *

 **Hey! This chapter's done! Yay! Kaia didn't get too much further along, meaning she still hasn't gotten out of Castelia yet. Next chapter, she'll be on the next route, making her way to Nimbasa. I wonder if she'll get attacked again?**

 **Some self-promotion really quick, something that annoys me. I made a Yu-Gi-Oh 5D's story called Crimson Symphony. If you get a chance, and you like that franchise, check it out. Thank you and virtual cookies to anyone who does it!**

 **I hope you guys liked this chapter, and don't forget to favorite, follow, or review! Bye~**


	21. Just a Normal Route?

Kaia walked out onto the route from the only other exit in Castelia. What she saw in front of her surprised her. It was just all...sand. Some of it was starting to blow around, but what exactly was this place? She had never seen anything like this back home.

Home. For some reason, ever since that announcement, Kaia couldn't stop thinking about Ransei, and how different the two places were. Up till now, she was just kind of wandering around, doing what she overheard other trainers talking about. Everyone emphasized going to Pokémon Gyms and getting badges, so that's just what she did. There wasn't any reason to it. She just didn't know what else she could do.

Kaia looked around at the sandy place. It slightly reminded her of Terrera, the ground kingdom in Ransei. That kingdom didn't have a place like this, but she could only assume it would be subject to sandstorms, just like Terrera. Kaia hesitated, looking for the right word.

She sighed, never being able to come up with it. She could just ask someone later. Kaia looked out in front of her, just seeing a lot of sand, and sighed. She didn't even know which direction to walk in.

"Damn!" exclaimed Kaia as she rubbed her eyes, "Stupid sand."

At this point, most would try and go back to get some protection for their eyes, but not Kaia. She didn't want to spend money on something like that. She saw other trainers walking out into the route like it was nothing, so she was going to do the same.

Kaia decided to walk forward. That would get her somewhere, right? Walking further, she tripped over something. She fell forward and landed face-first into the deeper sand. Kaia sat up and looked around her. She had fallen into some deeper sand. She got up, and dusted the sand off of her face. She then looked around and realized that she couldn't see anything. Not very well at least.

"Shit!" exclaimed Kaia. She had lost her glasses and could barely see two feet in front of her. That wouldn't be good. Especially with her luck. What if she got attacked right now? She wouldn't be able to do anything because of lack of sight.

Kaia fumbled for Etain and Nereus's pokéballs. She had forgotten they weren't out with her. The two pokémon could help her look for her glasses.

She looked at her two pokémon, and could barely tell which one was which.

"I lost my glasses," she said quickly, "Help me look. They fell off when I tripped into this patch of deeper sand."

Etain, or who she thought was Etain, nodded and started digging through the sand. The blue figure Kaia thought to be Nereus walked to a different area and started digging as well. Kaia did her best to dig, but she wasn't really much help to her pokémon.

Kaia soon gave up searching and just let her pokémon look. The trainer knew that she would just get in their way if she tried to "help" anymore. She sat there, somewhat watching them, and she started thinking about what that guy had said. Trainers use their pokémon as tools. Is this what he meant?

She shook her head. No, that couldn't be it. She just couldn't see, and she was actually no help to her pokémon. Plus, they could have just refused to do it.

Well, now that she thought about it, she kind of just commanded them to do it. Thinking back on it, it kind of did sound like she was commanding them to do something, with no choice in the matter.

Kaia sighed. Did that mean she was a crappy trainer?

Etain had finally found the glasses, and handed them off to Nereus, who carried them to Kaia.

"Thanks Nereus," said the trainer. She put her glasses on, and then paused before speaking again. She looked at her two pokémon.

"I hope you two don't just do things because I command you to do it. You can refuse to do it. Well, unless we're in a battle, I guess."

Etain looked at Kaia in confusion. He never thought of it that way. He had always thought that he did have a choice. He wanted to help her out because she couldn't see. Why would he just leave his warrior blind like that?

Etain huffed and let out a few embers. He didn't know why Kaia was acting like this all of a sudden? He had no idea what was going on.

Kaia scratched Etain's head.

 _Don't worry Etain,_ she told him, _It's alright; I'm just overthinking things._

That only left the growlithe even more confused. What did Kaia have to overthink about? He really didn't understand anything that was happening at all.

That entire conversation just left Nereus even more confused than Etain. The dewott hadn't heard their conversation, since he wasn't linked to Kaia. He knew there was an entire chunk of information that he was missing. He just wanted to know what was going on. Why wouldn't Kaia tell both of them? Why did he have to be the one that was left out.

Kaia looked at Nereus and frowned. She really wanted to find a way to link with him. She always forgot that she couldn't link with him, and it threw off the conversations sometimes. She really wanted to hear what Nereus would sound like through the link as well. It just wasn't working too well. What if she gave up too soon when she tried the first time? Should she try linking with him again?

Kaia's mind wandered to Unity again. If they were actually like the Warriors of Ransei, could they link with the pokémon of this world? Could she really link with Nereus like Etain? She really wanted to see if that could end up working. She could try again.

Would it actually work this time?

* * *

 **Hiiiiiiiiiii! It's been a while, I know I'm sorry! I had a small case of Writer's Block, trying to figure out what exactly I wanted to do in this chapter. Hehe, at the beginning it sounded like it would just be a normal trip down another route like a normal trainer huh?**

 **Well that was a wrong assumption if you assumed that. Wow that sentence was really redundant. Whoops. I know I might be moving it just a tad fast, but the next chapter is going to have some different POVs. Just try to guess who, I don't think you'll be expecting it.**

 **And before I go...**

 **HAPPY NEW YEAR! I hope you all had a fun time with family hopefully, and best wishes for the fabulous new year of 2018! I'll definitely be trying to keep my resolution this time, haha. Bye, and follow, favorite, or possibly leave a review!**


	22. So here's the deal

I know it's been a while, and I know it's disappointing that this isn't a new chapter. However, I am planning to rework the idea of this story. I really don't like the way it's coming out, and I feel like you all deserve more than a half-assed attempt at a somewhat world building, time travel… _thing_ that is out right now.

The main concept will be the same with many of the same characters and beginning. I want to plan the plot out better, and create moments that fit better within each world that Kaia is in. Many parts of the story seem confusing and don't really make sense, so the only solution I see to salvage this mess is to rework and rewrite it.

So please bear with me while I try to rework this into something I can be prouder of. The wait will be worth it.


End file.
